Vokun's Defiance
by Twitchygirl
Summary: When Alduin returns to the land of Tamriel to once more rule his dragon priest awaken from their slumber. Vokun the dragon priest of shadows has awoken to serve her dragon master once more in hopes of becoming whole again. But the untimely arrival of the Dragonborn at the High Gate Ruins forces Vokun to do what she must to survive.
1. 1 The Awakening

**Disclaimer**: Everything belongs to Bethesda Studios and I own nothing except for the OC and plot. This is a non profit work.

**Summary**: When Alduin returns to the land of Tamriel to once more rule his dragon priest awaken from their slumber. Vokun the dragon priest of shadows has awoken to serve her dragon master once more in hopes of becoming whole again. But the untimely arrival of the Dragonborn at the High Gate Ruins forces Vokun to do what she must to survive. Even if it means joining alliances with her lords enemy.

**Genre**: Action/ Adventure

_Please note this is my first story on here. While I am not new to writing I would appreciate any feedback and ideas that anyone may have. Please give a review of what you like and don't so I can make this a growing story._

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In the land of Skyrim the dragons ruled. For years the World Eater claimed the land as his own and began to subject the mortals below as his subjects. The people began to revolt and with the help of a dragon the three brave warriors were able to banish Alduin to the voids of time to never be seen again. His armies of dragons fell, the bodies buried in the earth in burial mounds. To serve as a memory to the people that had once been controlled. The dragon priest below that controlled the holds fell next, some died in battle for their lord while others went into hiding. The remnants of the dragon gods rule was lost to time. The locations of his servants hidden in the crumbling old ruins. Sealed away until the end of time.

It had been centuries since the dragon priest had help rule the people of the lands. The priest Vokun body laid caged in its old tomb waiting for the call of her master. The day came when the Dragon Gods voice shuddered out across the land of Tamriel. It brought a breath of new life to the old bones that laid locked away. Though life had been granted once more to her fallen form, it was not a welcomed experience. The world eater was supposed to be gone forever, locked away in the voids of time. Those where the words of the hero's that had stood and won against the dragon god. She was supposed to be granted eternal freedom for the tiring war. Yet here she breathed again, in a manner of speaking. Old bones cracked and creaked as the old soul commanded its vessel. She would realize that time had not been kind to her body. What had been soft pale flesh had rotted away years ago leaving only a trace of what it had once been. Strands of long dark hair remained attached, but most of her beautiful hair had been lost to time. Clothing regal in their form, that once marked her as a Dragon Priest laid against her bones in tattered disgrace. If the world eater could see her now she would be killed once more in disgrace,

How could her followers have messed up her finial ritual? Did they truly not care what happened to her body? Vokun's sarcophagus was meant to preserve her body forever in slumber. It was the only way to preserve herself for her unwanted master. Something had gone wrong and what should have been an easy resurrection was anything but. Years spent in slumber had drained away any magic her bones once held. The decay to her body made movement a painful aspect. A hoarse voice yelled from her final resting place for those that followed. Yet no one came. For days Vokun laid in her sarcophaguses building her strength to begin the lengthy process at hand. As her magic grew so did her ability to move. At first it was merely her fingers, they would twitch slowly in a way that seemed to be only the wind.

It was on the third day in silence that Vokun realized what was wrong with her sarcophagus. Something had fallen from above and landed on the corner of her coffin. While her body had remained untouched the corner had been broken. As time went on the cracked pieces crumbled away, no longer held by the stone that had once held it tight. With each falling piece the hole had grown to its current state. Eventually one day her sarcophagus may have been ruined by this fallen corner. Her body would have surly been mangled if not crushed, leaving nothing for her soul to cling to. For now there was just a hole, a hole that allowed the damp air of her tomb to enter.

* * *

A week later a determined priest was able to move her skeletal arms and leg enough to begin to work on the top. It had been sealed properly, much to her current dismay. Surely some of her followers had been buried in the catacomb area above. In fact she knew they had been, she had refused to go to sleep until at least half of them had been prepared for their later life. The rest were supposed to commit once she was sealed away. Either they had ignored her orders or…..they had not breeched the lower levels of the ruins in fear of her. Either was a grim outlook on what could have happened. Of course this meant that on her own, the dragon priest had to unseal her own top in such a confined area.

When kicking and screaming did nothing to the stone tomb Vokun had to resort to magic. Her own magic was based on destruction. Thankfully so many years ago the betrayal of her companion had resulted in the woman learning a simple conjuring spell. A spell that once uttered would allow for a creature from the plans of oblivion to walk their world, if only for a short while. The dragon priest was forced to squish her body down to the bottom of the sarcophagus, were the hole was. Thankfully most of her was only bone now. Had she truly been as she was it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to squeeze her fleshy body in such a confined area. The real annoyance came from the dried skin that desperately clung to her bones. Originally when she awoke the skin seemed to only encompass her face, where there was less muscle and fluids to rot away her skin. Now though as her fingers stretched down to the end she could feel the skin ripping away. It shouldn't have hurt her, she didn't even have the organs to sense the pain. It all had to do with the magic she was using, the magic that bound her body together for her eternal sleep. It allowed her to talk, though she had no lungs, vocal cords or tongue. To see the dark inside of her prison even with her eyes having rotten out long ago. Though she lacked the proper equipment for her body she could still use it. If one gifted in the arts of magic truly looked upon her they would see the ghostly spell that encompassed her body. It was much like how the skeletons could move, even though they were nothing but bones.

This same magic had grafted to what had been her skin. Though there was no pain from what had already been gone, what still remained seemed bent on torturing her. It was with the final tear around her wrist by boned fingers that allowed the priest to stretch her hand down far enough to reach the hole. It would have been easier to summon the fire atronach inside her coffin, but what if it came forth inside her coffin. Her ornate clothing would have been burnt and her crumbling body would have sustained damage from the creature. It was worth the effort to make sure the oblivion spawn came forth outside her sarcophagus. Vokun could feel the familiar pull of magic as it encompassed her hand. It was warm to the touch and held a comforting feeling to her now. Without fail she could feel the familiar surge as the dark purple glow encompassed her bone hand. The familiar sound rang out from the room that now seemed to be so sweet. It toke only a second for the fire atronach to appear from its plane in oblivion next to the sarcophagus. Vokun could imagine the creature floating in spot looking around for its master. There was not a sound as it waited for something or someone to command it.

Her voice came out hoarse as she called to the creature to release her from her tomb, carefully. There was the sound of the creature's molten clad hands running against the stone filled the room. Though eventually the creature may have been able to paw through the stone with pure strength and fire it would not work anytime soon. The amount of magic should would have to waste alone would be astounding. It was overall a pathetic attempt by the creature that truly seemed to do little to nothing. The creature was at least persistent and continued to try and scrap stone lid off the top. "Foolish creature, use your fire if you need to. Just get me out of this prison…" Her words rang out like venom showing just how short her temper was. Vokun was so close to freedom that she could taste it. To have her last ditch attempt fail was not a comforting option. Her words seemed to be enough inspiration for the creature though. Vokun pulled her fingers back inside the hole just in time for the flame atronachs firebolt to hit the stone. Again and again the barrage continued against the stone. Slowly it began to grow warm from the attacks to the point that even the inside was growing warmer. The stone was retaining its heat. In a way the creature was creating a massive oven for her to be cooked inside. "This is not working right Oblivion spawn…"

There was one side effect to the ruckus the spawn was making. Her followers above began to hear the sound and smell the smoke. The creatures began to hit on the door and within a minute they knocked the old lock away. Instantly there was a shout, something that startled even Vokun. She had learned the language of the Dov in order to communicate with her masters, but never the ability to use the Thu'um like the Dov. The creature she had spent so long to spawn was thrown against the wall and disappeared back to its home in the oblivion planes. Vokun shouted with all her might her hands slamming against the hot stone. "Release me at once my followers. Let me out!"

Her followers where still loyal enough that they moved closer to her stone prison. There was the sound of metal being pulled from its sheath. They seemed to be slamming their swords into the grove between base and top. A few seemed to hack away at the seal. While one smart person finally pushed their blade into the seal using all their weight to open the top. The ancient blade slid inside the tomb and began to wiggle back and forth to break the other part of the seal. The others toke hint and together three more swords went in, two on each side. Together they began to push on the metal forcing it to creak as it bent. "You are almost there…." She whispered out, her voice silenced in anticipation and fear as the seal began to break.

Finally with one final push the top popped off. A rush of stale air hit the dragon priest old bones. Though there was the taste of decay and musk in the air it didn't matter to her. It was the air of freedom and it felt wonderful. For the first time in what she assumed to be a week her body was able to rise higher than four inches from the ground. She could bend up and actually sit. "Thank you….thank you." She mumbled in gratitude to those that saved her. Once the feeling of her new found freedom was over Vokun looked to her followers to express her gratitude. Even though they were not sealed away they too had the dried skin that seemed to pull away. Their bodies had exposed bone that was concealed mostly by their ragged clothing. The thing that struck her as odd was the glowing blue eyes they seemed to have.

Initially it had been her plan to awaken her army. They were supposed to slumber until the world eater sent her his messenger. At most there where only a hand full that were supposed to be awake the whole time, to maintain the temple and its creatures. Based on the clothing of her savors they were not the ones she left in charge. Had something happened? Had the nords above tried to remove all marks of the gods world? Was this all of her army left to rise again? "Bring me my commanders…"

The old nords walked off back up down the stairs in silence, leaving her alone for a moment. She was able to climb out of her tomb allowing her feet to touched the cold stone ground. It was odd to feel what resulted in her feet now. It was an odd thing to learn to walk once more, and she was given only a few minutes before the others arrived. She quickly adjusted herself, moving her tattered clothing into place along with mask and 'crown'. There was a knock on the door and a minute later two men walked into her room their eyes emitting the same cold blue glow that she had seen before. Each man got to the bottom of the stairs and toke to one knee. Their head bent down to the ground waiting for her to acknowledge them.

This was one thing that Vokun had not grown used to in her time as dragon priest. The dragon's themselves where regal creatures with massive power. They expected their human servants to also show that same amount of fluid motion that they had. The one that had worn the mask before her had loved to be viewed as a god by his peers. Too bad they didn't appreciate his vanity, it had been part of his undoing. Quickly she dismissed their pose her hand flying to the side in a dismissive fashion. "Tell me what has happened. How long has it been, has anyone tried to open the tomb, and please explain to me your eyes…."

"We do not know, it has been years at least. New cities have risen to the west and the nords have moved close. But they seem to fear this area…..they have not attacked." The short of the two men found it fit to interject here. He was her second in command and tended to relay the information to the troops. "We do not know why our eyes are this way. Many awoke not long after you went to sleep. They whisper that they have been cursed by the gods for following you and the world eater." Her own 'eyes' rolled at the idea, "The gods fear the return of our lord. It seems in his absence we have forgotten or manners. Do not allow him to hear you use that title. He is Aludin first born of Akentosh."

Her second in command bowed down once more, "Yes of course, forgive me Vokun." "_Geh fahdon_."-"Yes friend." She responded once more her hand raised to dismiss the idea. Their lord was not there to criticize them. "This is why our tombs are underground. Too small for any dragon to get in and too deep for them to want to break into." A laugh echoed out of her commanders that filled the room. "Explain to me one more thing my commanders. Why did those that freed me from my tomb utter a Thu'um? We were mortals, cursed to never use the words of the dov for power." This is when Avi'nk her first in command stepped forward he dropped to both knees. "My Priestess please forgive us. In your absence we have spent many years alone. Those that followed the fallen priest came. Many refused to learn their words but a few…a few did. We tried to remove the ones that went against your words." This was when the second commander went down with his head held down. "But the Thu'um has its uses, and if Alduin never came forth again he would have never known."

_"Mey jul. Nid jul tinvaak dov rotmulaag."-"Fool human. No human shall speak the dragon words of power."_ In this moment she had begun to lose her temper. The words of the dov left her tongue and already she could hear Alduin's voice in her head. Her own voice lacked that deep dragon voice. The way their voice seemed to roll across the ground forcing her to shudder. To hear her own voice udder the same words just seemed fake. This was not the time to compare herself to the dragons though. Weary eyes looked down to the two men at the ground begging for her forgiveness. "If Alduin never returned then I would not be alive now. You would be confined to this tomb until you finally tried to leave. More than likely you would not make it in this new world my friends."

"We need to prepare for the war that will start once more. He will call upon us again and we must be ready to fight for our god. Begin to gather your armor and weapons and fix what we can. The rest we will have to take from the inhabitants around. DO not begin to leave untill we are somewhat prepared though. We can't allow for any weakness to break us." A sigh left her as she bent down to place her boned hands against the men. "We must not use the Thu'um of the Dov anymore. There will be times where we will be seen outside our hiding place. The dragons will not tolerate our mockery of their powers. As of this point any man that uses a Thu'um will not be allowed in our ranks. I will have to denounce him or her or fear the dragon god's wrath upon myself. You can now leave, inform the others of my decision." The two men left the room, with their task in hand. She would begin to work through her books. There had to be a way to prepare this broken body that she now had. To not only look once more as a human, but to perform as once. If she is to work for her lord again she needed a body that could meet that demand.

Little did the dragon priest below know that within four months the upper walls of her tomb would be pried open by a Nordic man. A clueless man who would not understand what he had stumbled across. He came in curiosity and continued down in quest of a scroll that a woman believed hid within her tomb. He wanted nothing more than to undo their work and bring down their god. Just by stepping into her tomb his world would be altered. The life he had, would never be the same after he crossed paths with the dragon priest below.


	2. 2 Amongst The Draugr

**Disclaimer**: Everything belongs to Bethesda Studios and I own nothing except for the OC and plot. This is a non profit work.

Thanks for the views, I am sorry I meant to have this out last Friday. But time eluded me and I was forced to wait till Monday when I would have enough time to finish this. I really wanted to make sure that I was able to look at the Winking Skeevr and the lore a bit before posting this chapter, trying to avoid inconsistency with the world. Please note that the travel time in the game is 10 hours when walking and riding, which seemed a tad illogical, so I did take some liberty's with this.

Also welcome our hero the dragon born into the scene. Though the two have not meet yet I wanted to introduce him so we can see a little of how he acts before we get to him fighting the priest. Plus or little priest needs to gain her strength back before they fight.

As always please favorite, and offer your comments/ideas. I have edited a few things, nothing story wise has been changed though. =3

I will hopefully be uploading the next chapter soon!~

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Vokun's mind was a haze as she walked through the once familiar rooms. It was possible to blame time for the haze that seemed to be strung over her thoughts. Rooms that had once been lined with tapestries of their faith, in colors so vibrant, where now only shades of brown. Their images lost as the pieces frayed away, taking the story with them. Walls had been broken, roofs collapsed forcing her servants to make new routes through their home. Food that had once been fresh, was little more than a mold stain by time. While the damage was staggering and upsetting to see, it gave her a good idea of how long she had slept in oblivion's embrace.

Vokun finally procured a seat in one of the many dining halls for her people. The shuffling of the dead around only seemed to distract her from that fleeting feeling that something was wrong. Something…something to do with her servants? If only she could remember what it was that seemed to haunt her memories.

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Unlike the other heroes of time, he did not have many names. While the titles seemed to become never ending, he only had one name. It was a poor name at that. His short time spent in Helegen, before the dragon attacked, seemed to be the beginning of his life. He was no child that much he knew for sure, but his own age seemed to elude him. Everything about his life till the point of Helegen was gone. There were times at night as he stared into the northern lights that he had that feeling. The feeling that everything he wished to know about his life was right there on the tip of his tongue. Just waiting to spill forth.

Yet he never seemed to breach its wall and with every passing night he became more jaded to the idea. It had been six months since that day in Helegen. The day he picked his name for what remained of his short life. It was a stupid name picked under the pressure of that Imperial woman.

Only hours before the dragon burned the town he had been captured by Imperials. The Jarl of Windhelm and his 'storm cloaks' where trying to flee from something or someone. The imperials planned their trap well and obtained everyone in the facility including him and Lokir of Rorikstead. A few hours later he would awake in a carriage being taken to the town of Helegen. His hands bound together like a common animal. The other men and woman did not fight back their attackers, maybe at one point when he had been out for the count they had. Now though their defiance was merely a silent memory as they approached the chopping block.

Each of them walked from the carriage in a line to be counted like cattle. Their names called and confirmed before being sent to the chopping block. When it became his turn a man by the name of Hadvar realized that he was not part of the storm cloaks. He called him forward and asked him what his name was. It should have been a simple question but he had no answer to that. He only knew he was a Nord by the Imperial Caption mentioning him as the Nord in the rags. He regretted those words that slipped from his mouth a name that would bran him forever. He had chosen the name Lygleif with little thought or consideration.

That had been months now, though it seemed like years. His constant travel across the lands in search of the words of power and a way to beat Alduin at his own game. Already he had traveled to High Hogthort to the home of the grey beards. They revealed the knowledge that he had dragons blood flowing through his veins. The ability to use the Thu'um was something that came natural to him, while the grey beards spent many years learning the skill. They had even revealed the disturbing concept that when he killed dragons, like Mirmulnir outside Whiterun, he was consuming their soul. Their thoughts and memories would become his own.

It may have been nice to be able to play through different parts of the dragons life, maybe even given him an advantage. But the thoughts where all muddled together in a haze. They spoke and thought in the tongue of the Dov, something he was slowly trying to learn. While he could understand their words, it was only the basic understanding of the conversation. Even the basics left him with a raging headache, as he tried to sort through so much muddled information. Over all his attempts had proven to be fruitless attempts at understanding the Dov more. Something late at night he would hear the whispers of the dragons in his sleep. Watch their jumbled minds clashing together in a great storm of anger and furry. Ever since the dreams started he tried to keep himself disconnected from the dragon souls as much as possible. Only using them when it was required, such as to shout.

When his ability to use the Thu'um becoming widely know knowledge, he had been requested to deal with everything from the 'bear menace' to killing the dragons on their ridges. Everyone seemed to have a problem and jumped eagerly at the idea of the Dragon born solving the issue. Now task seemed to be too little in their mind, even retrieving old rusted out swords. Lygleif was far too nice of a guy to turn everything down. While he wouldn't dart off on search of a book he would make note of the item and its last known location in his journal. If he was close to the area there was no reason to not retrieve the trinket. It was along his travels that he discovered Delphine, one of the only blades left in existence. The blades where an ancient order in the time of Talos. Their original purpose was to protect the Septim blood line. With the death of the emperor Uriel Septim VII and his known children by the Mythic Dawn the oblivion crises began. The blades had discovered another child of Uriel Septim VII named Martin and brought him to hiding inside their sanctuary of Cloud Ruler Temple. Martin Septim died in battle against Mehrunes Dagon, ending the oblivion crises and the blades purpose. From that time on the blades became dragon slayers and protectors of Tamriel.

Delphine was adamant that they together had to find out why the dragons where rising once more. While Lygleif had agreed to do as she asked he now was not so happy about the task. The trip from Riverwood to Whiterun then Solitude had been a long and agonizing path. What was supposed to be a week's ride in a carriage with his companion Lydia had been ruined after only the second day.

Everyone fantasizes about being the dragon born. All the power and glory goes straight to their head. No one stops to think of the number of enemies he had procured in only six months. Their carriage had been attacked by a dragon who used the horses as a tasty treat as the hero and his companion retreated into the thick of the trees. Running had never been his style but he could either fight or secure the rations they would require for the rest of the trip to Solitude. By the time they had stashed their water and food the dragon had flown away with a happy full stomach.

A week trip turned into eight days of hell. At first it was the rain that seemed to slow the two of them down, making their gear heavier to carry. The leather under their armor would soak up the rain, forcing them to trudge along in soaked clothing. Their skin growing raw from the wet leather. There where spots few in between in which the two could stop and take shelter. Often they stopped only for a few hours to rest before continuing. The whole time they kept their armor on, encase of an archer lurking around the edge of their vision. By the time they reached the snowy areas Lygleif had tried to find another carriage to carry them the last little bit. The pairs luck only turned rotten as the news that bandits had struck the day before in Morthal stealing the only carriage for miles. After so much misfortune the warm fire of The Winking Skeever seemed godly. Though the air was thick with smoke and the floors slick with booze, it was nice to be in civilization again.

The dragon born immediately found a corner to sit in, his boots propped up in a spare chair, as the Nordic mead began to flow into his cup. Lygleif procured a room for both him and his housecarl Lydia. Along with enough mead to put any sturdy man on his ass. "Let us enjoy the night my friend, Delphine's task can wait another day." Lydia raised an eyebrow, as if annoyed by his decision. "If you're sure my Thane." Lygeilf just rolled his eyes, while the woman was a useful fighter she seemed to have a stick up her ass. Always questioning his actions and ideas like he was a child. He was the thane of Whiterun…but then again his new title had robbed her of how own chance at the title of captain of the guard in Whiterun. So of course she would be bitter towards him. Had he not offered her a good fight now and again he would be worried with the woman using that blade on him. He had considered the idea of letting the woman return back to her home in Whiterun. But the idea of trekking through this god forsake land alone, with ever dragon on his ass, just didn't seem appeasing enough.

* * *

Hours later his belly was full of mead and the tavern was full of the stench of drunken men. At first when the men had begun to pour into the tavern for dinner, Lydia had become more and more annoying. She requested more than once to move to a more secluded place, one which gave them some privacy. After weeks spent practically alone he sort of enjoyed the attention the 'dragon born' was bond to receive in a crowed area. Already the bard had begun to sing songs of his conquest and his fate to destroy Alduin. But nothing kills a Nords buzz like a griping woman. After the third request Lygleif was forced to move from his comfortable spot to the upstairs tables, or risk losing the warmth the mead was providing.

Upstairs of the tavern was very different then the bottom, less people were crammed between the two tables. This area seemed to be used less by the local patrons, probably of the rooms next to the tables. The area allowed for a view of the fire and crowed below. The voices of the Nords singing and yelling below seemed to be quieter in this spot. Several book cases, covered in a combination of useless junk like rolls of unused paper and books lined the wall. He was not a man to spend hours with his nose stuck in a book. It was that aspect that had caused him to stay away from the magical arts, except for the occasional minor health spell. Yet he was in good moods, and the books of this land often offered up stories that sounded too obscured to be taken seriously.

It had been a month or so ago that he had stumbled upon a book called the "Lusty Argonian Maid vol. II" in the Honningbrew Meadery. At the time he had to be swift and had little time to read the book, so like most of the items around Tamriel he pocketed the book till later. After he had sorted that particular mess for the Thieves Guild he found time to read the book, with a bottle of Nordic mead at his side. Maybe it was the innocent smut the book was written of but he found it to be a hilarious book. One that made him spit the mead from his mouth with laughter. Since then Lygleif learned that mead and books mixed together like lust and woman.

The Nord moved to the shelf's examining the names with only a quick glance 'Horkers Attack', 'Kolb & the Dragon' where possible choices that could offer some interest to him. The books seemed like something he should actually pay attention to when he was filled with less booze. To his dismay there where only seven books out for the public to read. It was rubbish really, he had seen more books in the bedroom of the caves he stalked then this tavern seemed too offered.

That was a thought though, he had paid for two rooms, which conveniently where located across from the bookcases. He moved to his own room first, expecting it to contain more since it was the larger of the two rooms. There was a two person bed straight in front of him, along with a few small nightstands for him to store his equipment in. The right side of the room had a small sitting area with another bare bookshelf. This one though had several more books to read. At the top an old leather bound book was ready to slide off the shelf. With just a glance he knew this was the book he had been seeking. With the book in hand he returned to his spot at the table overlooking the rest of the tavern. "I found one finally Lydia."

The housecarl rolled her eyes as she placed her goblet down on the table. "What have you found now Thane? Another smut book to entertain your needs?" Lygleif let out a sigh his eyes rolling at the idea. "Woman that was one time, besides I am an adult, I can read whatever I choose." He sat back into his spot picking up the goblet to take another swig of his drink. Lydia would snort at his display her head shaking in dismay. She often reminded him that he was too young for his position. Now she seemed to think the same think as he opened the book and began to scan the pages. "Well what do you have there Lygleif….or do I need to take the book from you already."

He grumbled out a cures, something to do with women fighters and trolls. "It's called 'Amongst the Draugr' by some guy. He's a fool though, hiding in their nest trying to integrate with the creatures. They are just mindless husk cursed by the gods." He seemed to have said something right for Lydia nodded her head in agreement before returning to the task of trying to out drink him. Honestly the book didn't seem that interesting and he was ready to ditch the whole idea of reading completely. The mention of the dragon priest though caught his eye and with interest the man began to scan the page. "What freaks they are!"

The book was tossed across the table and into Lydia's lap. The woman's sharp brown eyes turned to daggers as she looked to the book. "What are you doing?" He would not be dampened by her anger now as he tried to contain his laughter. "Look on the page about dragon priest…." It toke the woman a few minutes to find his spot and read what he had just read. Her expression turned from malice to confusion. "I don't get it…." Lygleif almost jumped across the table to give her a good shaking. "The dragon priest consume the souls of their followers. They are eating them away to be those damn creatures. Come on that's gross, even for them."

"I suppose my Thane…you have had enough alcohol for tonight. Go to bed so we can do as Delphine asked." Damn woman always knew a way to ruin his fun. Lygleif stood and moved to her side of the table snatching the book from her. "Yeah yeah…..by the way I'm hungry. Come here Lydia let me eat a little of your soul, that should be enough." He grabbed the woman by the shoulders and pulled her up so that he could take a mouthful of her hair into his mouth. "Nom, nom"

He had never seen the woman so fast as she grabbed his arm and pulled him down to the ground below her. "DON'T EAT MY HAIR YOU BRUTE, ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Even with her pinning him to the ground with her knee pressed squarely against his neck he couldn't help but laugh. "Oh come on, you know you liked it." For whatever reason the woman just let out growl as she got off him and quickly retreated to her room. The door being slammed quickly behind her as she locked the door.

Lygleif stood up looking to the others that had begun to creep up the stairs to see what the commotion was about. "Women, you can never satisfy them…."

* * *

Time seemed to progress oddly within the tomb. Since there were no outside lights it was impossible to tell them time, let alone how quickly or slowly it was passing. Years spent sleeping only made the dragon priest irritable as she watched the progress of her followers. They didn't seem to have the same gusto that they had once had in their youth. Their bodies shuffling around like the tired corpses they were. Vokun had been trying to find the thought that eluded her but had finally surrendered to it all. With time her mind would become less of a haze and she would be once again able to perform at her peak.

Her followers where finding all the scraps of their weapons, even digging into the areas that had been long lost to them. She hoped that it would pay off, since their tomb seemed to lack the armory, her commanders had insisted upon installing. Vokun was so distracted by her own thoughts that she almost ignored the draugr that merely dropped their items to the ground and began to walk off. The loud clang of metal against stone ripped the priest from her thoughts and to the actions of her followers. The three draugr had begun to walk towards the door to the lower areas of the temple, including her own sarcophagus." Fos los hi sed dreh" –"What are you three doing?"

The draugr paused for only a moment, they looked to each other then back to the door. Either they didn't wish to expose what they were doing or they too where confused. She stood from her chair with intention to march over to the creatures, when they turned and began to move towards her. The priest raised her hand in warning, allowing her magic to flow out around her dead flesh. Had she already began to lose control of the dead she was supposed to command? Should she just end this little display now and get on with their work? The creatures stopped before there was any reason to cause bloodshed, or could they even bleed? Each of the creatures dropped to their knees in unison and raised their heads to look upon her with blank stares.

Those creepy blue eyes began to glow brighter as if suddenly lit on fire. Vokun began to feel fear from her own people, she had no idea what they were attempting to do but she was the leader her. If she allowed herself to appear weak in front of her people now, she would never be able to lead them into battle for their master. The draugr allowed their mouths to slack open, some seemed to almost fall apart from the lack of muscle holding them together. A blue glow began to eminent out of the opened mouth and towards Vokun. Vokun toke a breath preparing for the pain that she expected to come forth. But there never was any pain, but rather a warmth that seemed to penetrate deep into her bones. The blue glow wrapped around its new master before being soaked into the bones that bound it. After a few minutes the draugr stopped the exchange of life. They slowly stood and moved to the closest stone beds to regain their strength back.

"Of course…how foolish of me." Vokun rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. Her loyal followers where merely feeding her their souls as they had done for years before. They original where going to move to her sarcophagus like clockwork. Though it would have horrified her years ago the exchange had been rather pleasurable. Already she felt less tired, as if the haze upon her mind was being lifted. Her body felt less stiff, as if years of age was being removed. Now if only she could consume a strong soul, one that had not spent years draining away. Even one of the Dov would be nice. If three draugr could cause this sort of change in her from just a pinch of their souls. Imagine what a fresh dragon could do to the priest old body.

"Drun zey Avi'nk "-"Bring me Avi'nk". Already her mind was spinning out of control with the possibilities. Finding a dragon to consume would be hard, let alone consuming their souls. It was something that Alduin had boosted of. The ability to grow from the souls of the weak. But maybe she could convince her master to drawl out the soul and somehow allow her to consume some if not all of it. "Avi'nk mu lost yor mein. Mu kend siiv Aludin."- "We have a new plan. We must find Aludin."


	3. 3 Enjoy the Party (1 of 2)

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Bethesda Studios and I own nothing except for the OC and plot. This is a nonprofit work.

Thanks to Agent FireBird for the review I really appreciated the feedback!

I have changed a few things in the last chapters, cleaned them up some so it is a tad more obvious when it switches point of view. Also I have switched that the dragonborn has no **previous mask! **My original idea would be that our dragonborn would be a little more of a seasoned vet then he is. But in reality there is really not much that indicates where the mask are or what can be done with them ((in game)). I don't think it will come up in this chapter but it is important to note. I also changed the issue I had with the draugr speaking in the first chapter. Other than that there shouldn't be anything else that has changed.

I am excited for this chapter. It just kept getting longer and longer as I wrote it. I considered shortening it but since nothing seemed too rambled on about and I decided to leave it as it is with just the normal minor tweaks. I am sorry if it seems a tad boring still since our dragonborn and Vokun will still not meet yet. I know, I know it sucks. It just doesn't make sense for these two people to suddenly meet at the beginning of something. They have a 'life' before meeting and why this part of their life seems to get ignored I just don't know. I understand the frustration but Vokun is just not where I want her in her plans yet and I think this chapter will help the progression of the next. Which if everything goes well will be the chapter in which our two meet (hopefully).

I hadn't realized how long this chapter was going to be and ended up splitting it into two! Otherwise it would have been a few more days until it was released.

Also as you may notice I have been using some of the dov language in here. Please do not freak out if it is not exact or perfect, I am using a combination of the wiki and . If you have a problem with something please direct it towards them since I can't really fix their translators. =(

3 As always let me know what you think with a review! I absolutely love the feedback, even if you only have negative things to say. 3

* * *

_There was darkness around him, and yet it annoyed him. What seemed to be just merely a hazard of the job was now testing his own will. Lygleif could move his arms and legs but just barely, as if trapped. He could feel rock against his flailing limbs yet it did not hurt as he slammed his arm against it. Light, he needed light. Magic had never came easy to him, even the few times he tried to read the ancient spell books. In this instance magic would have been useful, and already his hope began to drop. How pathetic of a Dragonborn was he, if he couldn't even get out of a dark cave? _

_Dragon...born. Lygleif closed his eyes as he tried to calm the panic he had begun to feel. He knew what to do but not where. If only he could feel a breeze, smell the outside…. Quietly he waited, listening for something that would give him an indication of where to go. After a few minutes he could smell, very faintly, the putrid scent of what he believed to be Bleeding Crowns. The bleeding crown itself was a bitter mushroom that could be used for poisons. Exactly which poisons he wasn't sure but that was beside the point. Lygleif opened his eyes in the direction of the scent. A deep breath filled his lungs and already the familiar tingle of a shout would form in his throat. He allowed his Dov blood to take over as he yelled out "YOL" and with it a stream of fire._

_Though the shout offered little light it was enough to see the direction to crawl in to his freedom. Several shouts later and the air was becoming fresher, the damp musk of the wet cave was beginning to fade away. Fresh air. With a final shout Lygleif ran forward towards what had to be the entrance. The sound of breaking rock would echo through the cave as he slammed into the small hole making a larger hole for his body. Wings that where unfamiliar to him toke flight to the open sky. Freedom….._

* * *

Lygleif awoke drenched in sweat, in his room in the Winking Seever. He could hear his panting breath echo throughout the room as he tried to control himself once more. It had been a dream, nothing more. No not a dream, a memory of a creature that no longer walked this world or another. Never had he seen so clearly into the memories of the Dov he consumed. Out of all the memories he could have seen, this one seemed pointless. The only information he gained on the Dov was that they were claustrophobic when it came to being underground. Like everything concerning the Dov the clarity of the dream had come at a cost. His head had already began to throb from the night of consumption. His body also seemed to feel the abuse as he tried to roll onto his back. The world around him shuddered painfully.

After Lydia had stormed into her room Lygleif had continued to drink more. Part of it was in guilt for annoying his companion. Was he really becoming that intolerable to be around? The rest was just self-loathing that even he was beginning to develop. Being the dragon born had its perks of course, the ability to shout easily and the recognition the title came with. He often found that by just mentioning his title he would get more jobs within the city. Everyone wanted to meet the dragonborn, and they all seemed to have a task. While the continuous work had improved his coin purse it came with its downfalls. He was always walking into caves or ruins in search of a fight. People seemed to believe he was impervious to damage. Lygleif couldn't even back out of a fight though, let alone run away from a challenge. More was expected of him and the added stress had taken his normally cheerful outlook and turned it sour.

At some point in the night he had enough mead and had retired to his room. The door was closed, but impossible to tell if locked. His armor which could have been neatly stored away laid strewed across the ground. It seemed to be an erratic mess that he no doubt would have to clean later. For now the Nord just pressed his forehead against the cold side of his pillow trying to numb the pain in his head. The rhythmic beat of his blood in his head would eventually become comforting. Hours from now it would lull him into an uneasy sleep till morning.

* * *

They all thought she was mad with her newest plan. But it made sense, it would work….it had to work. "Zu'u fen gelaar nii einzuk Avi' Alduin vis gahnos sil do dreh, suleyk Zu'u praag wah meyz ulan einzuk."- "I will explain it again Avi'nk. Only Alduin can absorb the souls of the dov, the power I need to become whole again." Even in the most basic form her first in command just couldn't wrap his mind around it. "Gahnos sil fen drun hi rigir? Mu nunon nuft nii wah dein hi nahlaas wah mu'ul zuk." -"You think absorbing souls will bring you back? We only used it to keep you alive to rule again. Nothing more."

Vokun was clearly frustrated in his lack of faith in her. She was supposed to be the one with the knowledge of magic and the dov. He was in charge of keeping the troops in line nothing more. Already her temper was flaring forth and she was in no mood to be polite. "Vir yin hi luaan zey! Hi fen dreh ol hin fun, dreh mu mindoraan enook vorey Avi'nk?"- "How dare you question me! You will do as your told, do we understand each other Avi'nk?:" Though it was obvious he did not appreciate the tone she was taking with him he understood her wrath. Quickly Avi'nk descended to one knee his head dropped low to hide his expression from her. She did hate taking such a stance but there was no time. Her plan would require lots of preparation and work in order to complete. "Fos dreh hi praag dii haar?"- "What do you need my priest?" That was more like it. "Zu'u praag rahnd wah olak wuth fahdon."- "I need access to the library old friend."

Without another word her commander left her in peace retreating to the others to tell them their task. Vokun descended to the catacombs and then to her own room. It was the only safe place for her when she wanted to be completely alone. Even the mindless draugr that had been reduced to nothing more than a work force seemed to understand this concept. With the double doors closed the woman moved to one of the top steps and toke a seat. Her bones creaking as she lowered herself into a sitting position. For once she could feel the ground below her, even if it was hard and cold.

Vokun glanced briefly at the bottom of her tattered clothing and legs, grimacing at the damage. Years ago she had been such a vain ruler, possibly because she was the only female. Men were supposed to fall at her feet and grovel for their existence. Flatter her with sweet words as if it would change their fate. Yet now who would even look twice at the fallen ruler? She was nothing more than a remnant of the past, one that had failed so horrible without the rule of their dragon god. Her skeletal hand shifted from the ground to her head to forehead. She just wanted to feel the cool touch against her skin allow herself a moment to grieve before pushing away the thought.

Instead her hand came against the cool metal of her mask. The item that marked not only her loyalty but her power. In truth she had forgotten that the thing was still plastered to her face, it had just been there for so long that it felt like her skin now. With both hands she gently removed the crown upon her head. The hood of her cloak came down next and finally the mask. Unlike the other items her mask had pressed against her skin for so long that as she began to pull the mask away chunks of rotting flesh came with it. Vokun visibly shuddered as she looked down into the mask at what had come with it. Shaky hands finally touched what remained of her face, feeling what damage it had endured. It was official, no matter how much she wanted to ignore it. She did not look like she had once, and probably would not be able to for a very long time.

Instead of focusing on her appearance the dragon priest turned her attention to the mask, mindlessly picking away the dead skin on the metal. Her mind off on what would one day be her triumph. The restoration of her body, strength and the power she had once held over the land.

* * *

Sleep had been good to him. Lygleif awoke as the sun began to peak into his room. His body felt less heavy and sluggish and his mind didn't feel like a giant was beating against it. He was far from sober but rather a more functional hung over. After some food and drink from the owner Corpulus Vinius he would be able to do whatever Delphine had asked of him.

Slowly the Nord sat up in his bed, waiting for the world to stop spinning. Once more he would stand slowly until he felt as if he wouldn't fall with every step. He moved to the small wardrobe cabinet hoping that the inn keeper had placed some set of clothing inside for him. After looking through the first two, he found a pair of pants, a white long sleeve shirt and brown vest. Lygleif quickly pulled the clothing on to cover his exposed skin. It was defiantly cheap clothing, and a few sizes too large for him. Maybe it had originally been made to be worn by an orc? With a belt he quickly tied it around his waist pulling the itchy cloth closer to his already sensitive skin.

In his excitement of arriving in Solitude they had completely forgot to go to find an herbalist. The wet leather from their armor had rubbed his skin raw and at some point would require some form of treatment if he is to go into battle soon. It was just another task he would have to add to his list of things to do. By the door the man found his bag, which held everything he felt he may need or had stolen along the way. Near the bottom he found his journal, a small coin purse and the COAL he used to write.

Downstairs Corpulus Vinius was cleaning off the mead from his bar. In the corner was a pair of men that had fallen asleep in the inns chairs, their mead spilt down the front of their clothes. "You seemed to have a profitable night Vinius. Do you think I could trouble you for something to eat?" The man paused his cleaning and raised an eyebrow to him in questioning. Quickly he retrieved a small coin purse from his pocket and laid it upon the table. "Of course, what would you like?"

Ten minutes later Lygleif was sitting in the corner of the tavern next to the small secondary fireplace. In front of him was a bowl of cabbage potato soup, which was apparently the special of the day, and a small loaf of bread. He quickly downed the goblet of water before he even attempted to eat the food. His journal laid open and he scanned it as he ate. Every time someone asked him to do something he would write down the specifics down in his journal. Where he needed to go, who or what he needed to find. Everything he needed to be good at his job. Unlike most of the locals, like Lydia, he had no knowledge of where most places where. Instead he would have to pull out a map and ask them to show him roughly where places where. Once he had an idea he would make a mark on the map and write it down in his journal.

While it seemed silly, his map and journal had gotten them out of some sticky situations. Nothings worst then traveling for a week to only forget who you are supposed to talk to. Lygleif was looking in particular for the name of the man Delphine had requested for him to meet in Solitude. After a few minutes he found the scribbled page in particular labeled Turdas 13th of Sun's Dawn. Apparently he was supposed to meet a Bosmeri man by the name of Malborn in the Winking Skeever. It seemed he had the place down but not the man. Once more glanced around at the others that still lingered inside the tavern. None of them where a Bosmeri which lead him to believe that he would have to wait till later. "Probably wants to meet when it's crowded so no one will hear us. Well that frees up my morning…"

* * *

"Have you given Malborn all the gear you want him to smuggle?"

Delphine could have been a tad more discrete about what they were doing. Had Katla or her child Knud been closer they would be receiving some odd looks. They may have even called the guard if they were unlucky. Lygleif would have to give the blade some credit, she had scouted the area well enough and as they meet under the cover of night. It was unlikely that someone would hear their conversation. "Yes, Malborn's all set."

"Good. I have your invitation to the party. But the only way you're going to get pass the guards is if they really believe you're an invited guest. Which means you're need to look the part and not be armed to the t. Here put this on, when you're ready. I'll keep the rest of your gear safe until you get back. You'll only have what Malborn smuggled in for you, plus whatever you can pick up inside."

Lygleif looked down at the party clothes as she handed them over. The fabric was a dark brown trimmed in lighter brown accents. It looked nice, which unsettled him. Generally he was in his armor dirty and wet, the other time he was waiting for his clothes to be clean so they could get dirty again. He grunted and glared up at Delphine, who seemed to be taking some sort of twisted joy in all of this. "You can't go to a party in the Thalmor Embassy looking like that."

His hands were tied, in a figurative sort of way. The man trudged behind the mill to change in piece into the pompous outfit. Once the shoes and robes where in place, and all his armor was stuffed into his bag he came back out and handed the sack to Delphine. "Stop smiling, I look ridiculous."

"I guess that will have to do. You should pass for a real guest, at least until you open your mouth. Ready to board the carriage to the Embassy?"

"I'm ready. Keep the rest of my things safe for me."

"Don't worry it will all be waiting for you when you get back. Just make sure you get back out of there alive with the information you need. Good Luck."

Delphine stepped aside and let Lydia come to his side. "I won't be able to go with you thane. I will return to the inn with Delphine and meet you there when you are done. Long life to you, Thane." He only gave her a nod in agreement before mounting the carriage. The drive made a nickering sound to the horse and slapped his reins. They were off and in only a few minutes the glow of Solitude became a dingy glow in the background.

* * *

A few hours later in the snowy mountains they were able to find the Embassy. It was a large stone compound dotted with the torches of its guard, each clad in golden eleven armor. Already he was beginning to grow nervous, walking into such a well-defended area without any weapons was suicidal. His lack of armor only put him off more. He missed the sufficing metal pressed against his from restricting his every movement. These robes where to light, showing his every twitch as they approached the embassy. When the carriage stopped he got out and tried to play the part. He walked to the stairs that led to the door only to be stopped by the first guard.

"Welcome to the Thalmor Embassy, let me see your invitation please."

"Here you go." Lygleif plunged his hand into the pocket, removing the small square parchment Delphine had given him. The woman examined the paper, pulling it close to her torch to ensure it was authentic. After a minutes she seemed satisfied with the paper and handed it back, her face turning to a bright and cheerful smile.

"Thank you sir, go right in."

With a quick nod he hurried inside, not even bothering to introduce himself to the other patrons that had begun to walk towards the doors. Delphine had warned him to stay as silent as possible. He didn't view himself a dumb man, like most would probably portray the Nords. He defiantly did not talk or act like the snooty high elf's, who believed themselves to be superior to all other races. Lygleif was inside the room for maybe a combination of two seconds before a woman, clad in Thalmor armor approached him.

"Welcome I don't believe we have meet. I am Elenwen, the Thalmor ambassador to Skyrim and you are?

Lygleif didn't want to give his name to the woman and quickly tried to sway the topic away from his name. After all such information could be used by the Thalmor to find him later on. "Quiet a party. It's my first time, you know…..Where can I get a drink?" Liquor….it was the one thing he could talk better than anything else. Besides a few stiff ones may help calm his nerves for later. He still had to sneak into the back, retrieve his gear and then try to sneak through the whole place to find information on the dragons. Fidgeting like this would only result in his clumsy feet to reach a new low.

"Don't worry my parties are always well stocked with the finest food and drink available in this country. But first you where introducing yourself. Please tell me more about yourself. What brings you to this- to Skyrim-"

Before Elenwen could finish the thought Malborn drew her attention away with something to do with win. He could kiss the elf in that moment, if he could reach him. While the woman turned her hawk eyes on her servants he snuck around the corner and into the life of the party. The room was filled with guard and guest alike. Most wearing clothing of high marks that showed their place in society. There was a woman, Jarl Ingrad Ravencrone, in the back that he recognized but he believed it was better to avoided contact with her if necessary. It was best if she knew nothing of his activates outside of her town.

Instead his curiosity was piqued by a man of the name of Razelan as he shuffled around the room. The man was sitting on a bench with a gloomy look in his eyes. When his attention was turned to Lygleif he sighed asking what a man had to do in here to get a drink in this place. It was odd that this man was being refused drinks by the staff, especially since Lygleif had already been offered a drink, twice, by the female servant in the back of the room. It could be possible that the man was a violent or aggressive drunk. He needed to cause a scene, what was better than a fight? Grinning like a fool he went to Malborn to obtain the man some liquor.

"What can I get for you?" He asked, obviously nervous by the dragonborn's approach. His demeanor went much calmer as he asked for a drink. There were no questions, no insults, just a simple nod as the man handed over a glass of Colovian Brandy. "Here you go sir, the finesse Colovian Brandy. Is there anything else I can get for you?" Lygleif shook his head no and walked away back to his new friend Razelan. The sober drunks face seemed to glow as he approached with the drink. His dry skin cracking into a large grin as he handed over the expensive liquor. "Here, I brought you a drink."

"Ahh the one generous soul amongst a gathering of pinch pennies and lick spiddles. If there's anything I can ever do for you, do not hesitate to call upon me."

Lygleif sat down next to the man as he devoured the drink in a fiendish haze. He waited in patience until every drop was gone from the glass, the man excelling a happy sigh of contentment at his drink. "Actually Razelan, there is something you could do for me."

"Wonderful I can begin to repay your generosity immediately. Say on friend!"

He leaned closer so that the guard next to them would not hear the exchange the two were about to have. "I need you to cause a scene. Get everyone's attention for a few minutes." Lygleif had to be paranoid because he half expected the drunk to immediately say no. Instead the man smiled, the edges of his cheeks turning a faint red. It seemed the alcohol was already working its magic upon him.

"Is that all? My friend you've come to the right person. You could say that causing a scene is somewhat of my specialty in life. Stand back and behold my handy work."

Lygleif nodded and stood from the bench walking across the room to another patron of the party. He wasn't even able to utter a sentence before Razelan moved to the center and called for everyone's attention. As the man muddled out an announcement Lygleif slipped around the room and to Malborn. "I'm ready."

The man nodded and remarked "I'll see if I have another bottle of that." Just in case the guards where still watching them, it seemed they were both paranoid about his task. In a hushed tone Malborn opened the door ushering him inside. He whispered, "Let's go before anybody notices us." Almost pushing the dragonborn inside before shutting the door quickly.

They were in the back area, which included the food storage and kitchen area. The man seemed to relax more as he reached the other door and no one seemed to have followed. "So far so good, let's just hope that nobody else saw us."

Lygleif was not one for superstition but he could have punched the elf then. Never ever mention something like that in a stressful situation like this. It seemed the gods where not on their side, only two feet into the next room a Khajiit woman by the name of Tsevani noticed them. Malborn seemed prepared for this interaction and jumped into conversation with her before he could utter a lame excuse.

"Who come Malborn, you know I don't like strange smells in my kitchen."

"A guest feeling ill, let the poor guest be."

"A guest in the kitchens Malborn? You know this is against the rules!"

"Rules? Is it Tsevani? I didn't realize eating moon sugar was permitted. Perhaps I should ask the ambassador?"

"Pah, Get out of here. I saw nothing."

Malborn walked through the kitchen and into a room. His gaze turned onto the dragonborn as the door closed behind him. "Your gear is in that chest. I'll lock the door behind you, don't screw this up! Now come on if someone misses me at the party where both dead."

Lygleif moved to the chest, pulling the old wooden lid up. A grin graced his lips as he saw all of the items given to the elf tucked away inside. How the man had managed to smuggle in all of his armor and weapon he would never know. It must have taken him some time, or help from the other workers within the embassy. Either way he was happy to pull his armor from the chest and begin to put it all on. "Don't worry so much. I'm the dragonborn. But if you think you can do this better than me elf, go right ahead." Malborn let out a snort rolling his eyes at the remark. "Well then let me do my job and you go do yours."


	4. 4 Enjoy the Party (2 of 2)

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Bethesda Studios and I own nothing except for the OC and plot. This is a nonprofit work.

Thank you to all of you that have Followed and Favorited this story! Also thank you for the guest who asked me to post soon.

I know it has taken me longer to post, no idea why I have all the ideas of what to write. Just been distracted with cleaning my place up and fixing my computer.

I have been going back and forth about actually writing the walkthrough of this mission. I am not the best with fight scenes when it is only one side. I need to improve of course, and there will be fight scenes to come. But I have decided to only do snippets of the mission. Mostly because how long I seemed to make the parts I did write.

I am of course trying to get Vokun and the Dragonborn together which should happen really soon! Just be patient with me….

Anyways I hope you enjoy the second part to this chapter!

* * *

Lygleif had checked his gear when he had gotten dressed. A full set of superior scaled armor, made by his own hands. One orcish great sword of burning, one elven dagger of sapping and two potions of invisibility. Yet after he walked through that door and heard the click of the lock in place, he began to unravel. Malborn had wanted him to do this stealth, mostly sneak around the place until he found the information. Maybe use a bow or dagger to assassinate anyone before they got a chance to see him. While he was a member of the thieves' guild in Riften, Lygleif had not really bothered to progress his ability's in sneaking yet. Most of the time he just waited till the inhabitants of houses where gone, giving him freedom to roam around the place in search of valuables. Other times when he was unlucky enough to get caught he would just end up running away. The only issues with this method was that normally he had to use his strength to do silly chores for people, such as chopping up firewood, in order to gain enough gold to bribe the guards.

He would admit it seemed a little shifty, and it was not something he had been typically proud of. His poor sneaking skills was part of the reason he had not returned to the thief's guild since his trip to Goldenglow Estates. Now was not the time to dwell on such ideas. He had a job to do and just sitting around was going to result in his untimely death from the Thalmor just ahead.

In front of him was a hall with two rooms, one on either side. Both doors where open but from the left he could hear to men jabbering on about robes. Lygleif ducked down into the hunched over position Brynjolf had taught him their first encounter in Riften. His hand shifted to the invisibility potion tied to his waist but stopped. Surely he could make it down the hall without it, the potions only worked for so long and where a pain to find for purchase in the city's.

He had made it to the room on the right without being noticed. Surely there was something inside this room. The place was a wreck with tables thrown up against the wall, and cobwebs decorating the ceiling. It would have been nice if this room offered a way around the two men back down the hall. There was only one way forward and it was probably going to be messy.

Lygleif had tried so hard to perform a silent assassination of the one man with his dagger. His blade sunk silently into the high elf with such speed that even he was surprised how easily the man's flesh broke away. Unfortunately the man's companion had picked the perfect time to look over and see his friend crumple over and to the ground.

The Thalmor man pulled out his steel sword from its sheath and brought it down hard on the table, just inches from where Lygleifs hand had been. "Screw this!" He jumped backwards to dodge the next attack putting room between the two of them. His Orcish greatsword now in his hands ready to taste the blood of his enemy.

"Die Nord!"

The Thalmor fought valiantly, even landing a few lucky blows against his armor. In the end though his body became a bloody corpse in the far left corner away from the stairs. He should have heard the mage coming down the stairs to see what the sounds where. But he was already ransacking the corpse for anything of value. The crackle of lightning could be heard as the mages powers came forth. Lygleif's back was the first target as the man threw his lighting spells forward.

Lygleif felt the numbing sensation travel over his back and down his arms first. If he had been much of a mage he would feel his magicka being sucked from his veins. Instead though it just made his limbs numb, making it impossible to tell if he was holding onto his blade. Let alone swinging hard enough to kill. This was not enough to stop him from attacking and he went forth to end the mages life. The mages barrier came up as he swung his sword down, causing the blade to glance off it. "You damn mages!"

A wiser man would have tried approaching from another direction, or even another tactic. Lygleif instead just kept raising his sword up and slamming it down against the weakening barrier, wildling away a little bit of the man's magicka and health with ever blow. Finally the mage dropped to one knee, with a surge of magicka he threw everything he had into his lightning and released the shield. Lyglief felt the stinging sensation ripple through his chest, his muscles spamming as his blade came down.

His vision was filled with little white dots which prevented him from seeing his blade come down and split the man's head in two. All he could feel was a warm liquid pulling around his feet as he stood there stunned. Had Lydia been there she would have knocked him against the head in an attempt to 'clear his mind'.

Thank the nines for only the three men. Had there been another attacker waiting Lyglief would not have been able to fight off his attacks in this dazed state. A few minutes later he was feeling better, the spots had almost vanished and the tingling feeling in his fingers told him he would not be numb for much longer. While his tactic of brute strength had worked for the first three men, he would not be able to wait around after each wave to regain his strength. The Thalmor where not to be messed with, as he was beginning to learn and their mages could pack quiet a punch.

Lyglief rummaged through the high elfs items, he removed a set of Thalmor armor that the warriors had been wearing. With some work it could be decent armor, or at the very least a nice display in his house. Once he was sure that the only path forward was the stairs Lyglief returned to the crouched position and obtained a potion of invisibility. "New plan, bottoms up." Within seconds the potion began to take its effect. A faint glow ran down his body as the skin began to fade away into nothingness. The bottom bits of the potion was applied to his armor and blade, to ensure that they two where hidden from the watchful eye of his enemy.

Upstairs to the right was another hall that lead to a dining room, ready for some occasion. While the glow of the silverware against candle light was enough to entice any thief's eye, he passed up the chance. Instead he stole a few potions, such as a potion of health. Regeneration and stamina, located on each side of the room. Down the other hallway was just a plain bedroom with a few decorative bits and bobs here and there. But nothing he deemed valuable enough to bother carrying the rest of the way.

There was nowhere else to go but back outside into the cold snow. His feet crunched against the fresh snow and slick stones. Making him even less gracefully then he had been inside.

* * *

Brynjolf would have been proud of how he handled himself on the walls. The Thalmor had been spaced enough apart that with a few quick blows his prey was cut down without a sound. The invisibility potion was holding up for now, but already his blade was being soaked in the blood of its prey. If he was not careful the Thalmor would see a piece of floating blade and realize there was someone there watching.

After sneaking around the edge of the courtyard Lygleif had almost walked straight into the mage at the door. With the potions effects beginning to fade away Lygleif had improvised to make the guard walk away from his post, leaving the door free for him to go into.

* * *

Inside Elweens Solar his luck had ran out once more. Not only did he have to engage in battle with two Thalmor soldiers, and a Thalmor mage by the name of Rulindil. Upon picking their items he found a key with the inscription Interrogation Chamber off the dead mage. Finally alone he had gone through the rooms on the lower level searching through them. Finally he found a chest, hidden behind a table which held three notes. Dragon Investigation: Current Status, Thalmor Dossier: Delphine, Thalmor Dossier: Ulfric Stormcloak

The first note was written to First Emissary Elenwen which told of a man who they believed held information about the rise of the dragon. 'The informant' as they called him had been moved to Embassy, in the cell closest to Elewen's office stairs, for interrogation. While the note had no date in particular, he assumed that since there was no follow up note or report the man must still be here. While Delphine would be disappointed to know that the Thalmor had just as much of a clue on what was going on. The acquisition of this man could be rather useful for them. Plus it would screw over the Thalmor, which sounded like a pretty good plan at the moment. Placing the documents into his bag for later Lygleif moved to the stairs on the left side of the room. Going to where he assumed was the interrogation chamber.

* * *

There was a soft knock on the large wooden doors to her chamber. For someone to disturb her must mean something new had developed. Quickly the priest moved to the edge of the sarcophagus plucking her dark mask up and back to her tattered face. While her subordinates wouldn't question the removal of something as silly as a mask. Alduin would more than likely find it insulting that she removed his token of power from her body. Once everything was back perfectly in place Vokun turned to the doors ready for her guest. "Geh"-"Yes".

Karrygg, her second in command, pushed open the heavy wooden door as if it was nothing. His skin was stretched tight around his eyes as if the man was trying to smile to her. "Mu lost govey qethsegol nol zen wah."- "We have removed the stone from the path." Karrygg opened the door wider bowing his head down some. He expected her to run off to the Library now, which in truth she had planned to do the moment the path was clear. "Studen Karrygg."-"Excellent Karrygg." Quickly she went down the stairs and out the door waiting for her commander to lead her down the hall.

The dead waited for her arrival, most dropping to their knees as she came to the entrance of her beloved Library. If they could have seen her face they would have seen her toothy grin at the sight of the ancient books covered in dust. "Alok. Niist los vorey kroson wah dreh. Fah nu praan ahrk rim hin mul." – "Rise. There is other work to do. For now rest and gain your strength."

Without waiting for her people to go off their separate ways Vokun almost ran into what had been her sanctuary for years. It seemed that after she had been laid to rest this area of her tomb had been left alone. Which was to be expected, since most people could not read back then. It was only the rich and powerful which learned the art of words on paper.

Greedy hands fluttered over the dusty spines of books to clear away the years of neglect. There had to be a book within about souls, let alone ways to transfer them from vessel to vessel. It was only Alduin that could eat the soul from the body without problem. Which meant that most of the books written in the library would be useless. The few books written in the tongue of the dov had been written by others loyal to the dov. Most of these books where what the dragons allowed them to understand about the world. Mostly of Alduins greatness and what was expected from them in exchange for his strength.

Vokun grabbed several large books from the stone walls. The first was bound in a burgundy leather with the golden words of the dov sowed in. If her memory was as good as she assumed the book was mostly about Alduin and his power. The other book that laid off to the side, was a rich mahogany color inscribed with 'Dovah Thun' or 'Dragon Law'.

In the middle of the library played host to a large ornate stone table. The stone was a dark grey marbled with mineral veins as dark as night. The stone had been imported from the Throat of the World years ago. The blacksmiths of her land had crafted metal dragons that held the slab of stone up from the ground. While the table was made partially for decoration it showed how obsessed they were with the dov kind.

Vokun toke the books and placed them on the table for her use. The faint glow of the torches, which had been set up before she had entered the room, casted deep shadows over the room perfect for hiding in. Vokun did not mind the shadows, let someone try to attack her while she studied.

The old pages held a musty smell from years of being sealed up like the rest of this tomb. They once cream pages now tainted yellow by age with tattered edges that threatened to rip away. The state of the books didn't matter now, for the first time in years she was able to read again. She had a purpose, a goal worth achieving.

…

After what seemed like hours of reading the answer she was looking for still eluded her. What had originally been a stack of two books had grown into a mountain of books that had been arranged around the table. Some books had still been open when she had tossed them aside. It was about half way through her current stack that Vokun had retrieved a pink crystal off one of the shelves. The gem was mostly for decorative purposes but there had been rumor of the mages in the north trying to use the stones for something more.

Now as she discarded another useless book her fingers ran over the polish gem mindlessly. "There is a way, what am I missing?" She was beginning to feel discouraged in her search. Her mind was a whirl of thoughts and ideas all clashing together at once. Within this massive storm would be the answer. Vokun tried to relax herself, clearing her mind to try and clam down the storm inside.

The dragon priest calm exterior broke then. Her face twisted in anger as the pink shard was launched against the wall of the library. Her fist came down against the stone table. A cracking sound vibrated through the room but she didn't seem to notice. Books where being flung every direction, pages flying into the sky like scattered birds. A scream left her lips and drowned away the sounds of paper fluttering to the ground.

* * *

The draugr could hear their leader's screams within the room and began to grow restless. Though the doors had been closed they did little to hide her rage. When Karrygg had arrived to the room there was already a crowed of followers all standing around the door afraid to open the door. He sent for Avi'nk to be brought here immediately. Never had he heard her act like this, even when Alduin went missing in battle and left them to die. When Avi'nk arrived he too seemed weary of the task at hand.

* * *

Vokun did not see the large wooden doors of the room open up. She did not hear their feet cross the stone floor to her but she felt their hands against her arms. Like an animal she instantly began to fight back allowing her magicka to flow forth from her body. A dark flash of magicka ran down her extended hands and over her body. Like a protective layer it clung to her protecting her from the blows of her foes. There was shouting and screams as she began to unleash her fire upon those that dared to attack her. Vokun tried to get a good look at those that held her but the room was in chaos. Fire climbed up the walls of the chamber filling the air with a dark smoke. Bits of glowing ambers streaked across the room as evidence of the growing fire. Someone within the room was using ice, trying to freeze her or something else. It created a puddle of water on the ground which they all began to slide in as she struggled against them. Pain….a blinding white pain in the back of her head. Her body went numb as the world began to shrink out of reality. Her rushed breathing began to calm as she blacked out and went to the ground.

Avi'nk and Karrygg dragged their fallen priest body out of the library and with the help of others carried her back downstairs to rest. They would deal with the consequences of knocking her out later. As soon as the fire had started a few of the braver draugr had entered the room and tried using whatever ice destruction spells they had to stop the flames. Now they battled to save what little was left of the charred room.

Years of knowledge ruined in one fit of blinded rage.

* * *

Lygleif used the key he had gotten off Rulindil's body to open the door below the stairs. He was on the second floor of an opened out room. He got down into a crouching position and moved to the edge of the railing. The room had multiple entrances at the top along with what could be an exit near the back half. At the bottom of the room was large metal cages, one which held a man that was chained to the wall. That had to be 'the informant' mentioned in the letters he found upstairs. Other than the caged man the room seemed empty, probably because of the dull party outside. No doubt someone would soon find the dead guards body's. Then there would be people swarming the whole embassy looking for him. Of course he planned to be gone by then.

Lygleif straightened out as he walked down stairs around the corner to the bottom layer of the room. As he emerged from the entry way a Thalmor woman down the hall turned at the end of the cells and began to walk back down the line towards him. Maybe it was the shadows of the entry way but the woman did not spy him yet as she approached giving him enough time to tuck himself back inside the entry and against the darkened walls. As quietly as possible he tried to draw his Orcish GreatSword from its sheath on his back. The woman heard the sound of metal against metal and turned to look at the door. She quickly equipped her own blade before moving towards him.

Lygleif didn't even give the woman the chance. As soon as solider was close enough he lunged his blade forward into the woman's neck. Quickly her face turned to panic as the blood began to leak around his blade. Her hands move to the blade and managed to dislodge it. The only probably for the elf was that Lygleifs blade was the only thing keeping her from bleeding dry. With the blade no free the blood began to gush out like a fountain. Within seconds the guard was on her knees, her eyes rolling back in her head, as she meet death and collapsed.

The body left a large puddle at the entry way that forced him to walk through the blood. While he didn't mind the sight of blood he hated how everything he seemed to own was stained by the crimson liquid. His shoes would be no different now. The metal of his blade had red stains running down the veins of the metal that made it look as if the blade actually drank the blood of his enemy's. While he had heard of such swords existing, so far he had not run into one yet.

Before anyone came down to switch out with the guard he ran to the desk on the right of the line of cells. While the desk was blank of any important papers there was a chest next to the desk, much like upstairs, and to his surprise there was another dossier. This one was labeled Thalmor Dossier: Esbern. Was this the man that was in the cell next door? The top few lines made his heart drop, while this mystery man was not next to him it seemed that he was very valuable to the Thalmor. He was considered the highest priority and was to only be captured. Had Lygleif had more time he would have gone into the long background of the man. But he still had a man to question and an escape route to plot out. So like the other dossiers he secured the new one in his bag to look over later.

A soft moan left the cage of the man in the first cell. According to the papers he read above the Thalmor had been torturing him for the past day or so. He moved to the open door swinging it open. The man was obviously Nord in decent judging by the fair skin and dirty blond hair. His arms where latched to the wall so that he danged down with his knees almost touching the floor. As soon as Lygleif toke a step forward the man spoke with fear present in his voice.

"I've told you, I don't know anything else about it."

The man kept his eyes glued to the floor his head hung in defeat. They had beaten the defiance out of him and he did not look to see who was there. Merely accepted that he had to be one of the Thalmor that held him hear. He wanted to mention he was not one of the Thalmor but feared the man would not tell him all he knew then. A sigh escaped him as he came to the conclusion of what he should do.

"I'd like to hear it all one more time."

"Fine whatever you want. Can't you just kill me and get it over with? There's this old man, I've seen him around Riften. I don't know where he lives, and I don't know his name…..Yes he matches the description of the Esbern you're looking for. Maybe its him…maybe it isn't. That's all I know….Okay!"

Riften, no doubt the thieves guild could help him locate the man in question. For a sum of gold of course. Lygleif considered the idea of sending a letter off to the guild once he escaped. Couriers could often be quiet useful in sending information without it being captured. But with the starting war the courier would have to pass over land that Ulfric considered his own. It is possible that the man could be captured and such delicate information could be past back to the Thalmor. Besides there was always the idea that Delphine didn't want him to find this Esbern fellow in the first place. Maybe he is just a decoy or a defective from the order. He would just have to wait till he meet Delphine back in Riverwood.

"I'm not here to torture you."

"Wh-at….who, what do you want then?"

It was then that one of the wooden doors above let out a squeak as it was opened. Lygleif turned to the man that now looked at him with interest. "Shhh." He motioned with his finger to his lips before dropping down to the ground and out the cage. At the top of the stairs, the one that lead down to the dead body, where three men. Two of which were dressed in Thalmor armor, the other which seemed bound up was Malborn. Lygleif quickly tried to run to the steps and up them, still bent in a crouch to avoid being detected by the guard. He paused just within view of the action ahead.

"Listen up, spy! You're trapped in here, and we have your accomplice. Surrender immediately or you both die."

Malborn glared at the two soldiers, his hands twitching behind his back as if he was trying to undo the ties. The rope fell from his wrist as he pulled out a _ dagger. "Never mind I'm dead already."

Lygleif pulled out his blade and ran the last few steps forward attacking the guard that had turned her back to him while Malborn went for the other. His blade went down into the woman's armor, each time widening what had begun as a small dent. Her elven mace got a few good hits, one to his shoulder and the other his hands. But still he managed to slam the weapon down into her body and down to her stomach as Malborn slammed his dagger into the back of her neck. With one down the favor seemed on their side till Malborn went down to the ground clutching his shoulder as the mace of the living Thalmor hit against his un-armored body.

Lygleif charged forward trying frantically to save the injured man's life before another blow could be landed upon him. The woman turned his attention to the dragon born and with a slew of insults turned her attack to him. The weapons clashed as the two tried to throw the other off balance enough to land the final blow. With a piercing clash the elven mace slipped out of the woman's hands and to the ground by Malborn. With no weapon she was unable to block his blade as it plunged through her light armor and into her stomach. Her death was much slower than her companion but she was soon on the ground in a pile of her own liquids.

Together the searched the woman of their belongings and armor. On both he found the key to the interrogation chamber in which they were now presently within. There was another key labeled as 'Trap Door'. It seemed that somewhere within the room was his escape route in which they have so kindly provided. With the new key in hand Lygleif returned down the bloody stairs with Malborn at his back.

He returned to the man, who he would later come to know as Etienne Rarnis. As soon as he entered the man began on about not knowing anything. His faith in the dragonborns ability's seemed to be very little. Then again days of torture would beat the hope out of any soul.

"I'm not here to torture you."

"What-what do you want then?"

"No time to explain. Let's get out of here."

"Yeah. Sure, okay."

Lygleif moved to the man's side and removed the shackles that held him to the wall. The man landed on his knees with an oomf, not used to holding up his own weight. It toke the man a minute to catch his bearings and stand on his own two feet. While he still wobbled like a newborn calf he was able to move without the assistance of the dragonborn.

"Come on, this way. I've seen the guards use it to get rid of bodies. It must lead somewhere."

"Sounds good, I'll follow you."

"Whatever you want. But let's go, now."

The man walked slowly to the corner of the room, which held the remnants of bones and blood. Beneath the mess was the latch for a trap door leading somewhere down below. Lygleif pulled out the key he had found upon the woman's bodies and handed it to Etienne Rarnis who found the lock and slipped the key into place. Lygleif pulled open the trap door once it was open waiting for both Etienne and Malborn to enter before going in himself and closing the door behind him.

The room below had a single torch that lit the dim area up. There was only one way forward, through the dark tunnel, which held a chill in its air. Lygleif grabbed the torch of the wall and got in the middle of the two men. Allowing Etienne to lead the way down the darkened hall. There was the sound of battle as the approached the light and Entienne dropped down the small hill into the snow. In front of him was a frost toll and a mage engaged in battle.

"Shit!."

He had little choice but to follow the man off the hill and to the Frost troll. Hopefully he could kill the bastard before it killed the unarmed men he was with. The dragonborn pulled forth his greatsword and brought it down on the troll as he fell to the floor. The beast let out a growl as its attention turned towards him and away from Entienne. He tried to lead it deeper into the cave away from the others but there was very little space for the two to fight in.

Frost trolls where trouble for their furry exterior offered a layer of protection against his blades. Even worst the creatures where massive and knew exactly how to swing those massive arms to land a deadly blow. Lygleif toke a deep breath and began to feel the tingle of a shout within his lungs. The words came to his mind as if he was looking right at them. When his body felt like it was about to explode from the shout building inside he yelled out the word. "_Krii_"

The shout ran forth and slammed right into the frost troll causing a purple glow to emanate off his white fur. The shout would cause the creature to be weakened for some time, allowing his weapons to do greater damage against the beast. With greatsword in hand he ran forth to meet the dazed creature in battle.

…

Lygleif had sustained some damage with his fight with the beast. Most of his wounds would heal within a few days. But the broken nose, and dislocated shoulder would have to be set in place before they could heal properly. At one point in the battle the dragonborn had taken shelter dragging out a bottle of regeneration he had discovered within the embassy above. The liquid was pungent and smelt like boiled Nordic barnacles and some sort of mushroom. While he hated drinking this substances he was left with only a few seconds to decide before the Trolls attention was turned back to him.

The potions effects still lingered even after the battle, he didn't feel healthier bur rather jacked up. As if the potion was filled with liquid adrenaline. He had not felt the pain in his shoulder during the battle and was unable to place when the beast landed the blow. But now as the burning in his veins began to subside he knew the effects where almost over. The two men had taken shelter in what looked like the trolls bed. A pile of snow with bones strewed about it all. They probably remained hidden due to the smell of the bloody dead body of the mage they had seen earlier. Lygleif felt bad for the man's final resting place being the cave, but he never had enough time to move and burry all the bodies he came across. He picked through the man's pockets finding a bag of septims and a staff, which he believed to be of the Familiar.

Once he was done with his looting the Dragonborn, Malborn and Entienne climbed up the snowy rocks to the exit of the snowy cave and freedom. The cool air felt amazing on his sweaty body. A sigh of relief could be heard from Entienne as he seemed to enjoy his new freedom. Malborn turns away from the dragonborn his gaze a glare as he left. It seemed the man was mad that his cover had been blown and wanted nothing better than to leave the 'idiot', as he kept calling Lygleif. Entienne offered his gratitude at least and left on his way back to his home in Riften.


	5. 5 Soul Gems and Ore

_Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Bethesda Studios and I own nothing except for the OC and plot. This is a nonprofit work._

_Ahhh I can just hear the screaming now! NOOO SHE LEFT US BEFORE THEY COULD MEET! Why do you keep extending this meeting!_

_I am really sorry, I just didn't expect that second part to be so freaking long. Especially hadn't planned Vokun's little freak out there. When I got to the end of Diplomatic Immunity I was at roughly six pages with 5428 words and we hadn't even gotten Lydia back or made it to the ruins! This chapter seems to be growing to be even longer. It has hit roughly **9,517** words before improvements.  
_

_So Instead of making that chapter even longer…I decided to write this one and release it within a few minutes/hour of chapter four. So bam instead of one chapter you are getting two really long ones! =3 As a little side note I am going to use the Hearthfire expansion to give our dragonborn a house up north. Surprisingly the Windstad Manor is right next to High Gate Ruins, it's literally in your backyard. So I figured that would be the best way to stumble upon the priest and Vokun. If you don't have this expansion its okay, you don't need to know much except that under High Gate Ruins on the map is land you can buy and build a house at. Anything else you need to know will be explained in the chapter._

_I would also like to mention that I know there is a woman in the entrance room of the high gate ruins. I would like to believe that she has not been there for very long since there are still draugr below. I see Vokun trying to kill her uninvited guest rather than letting them be. So we will act like she is arriving sometime in the morning the day the dragonborn arrives._

_I would like to apologize for how long it has taken me to get this all out. My ocd kicked in with Sims 3 and I just completely forgot about Skyrim for a few days. Then when I did try to write nothing came to mind. That is partially why Vokun's freak out scene was written because that was truly how I felt at the time. Thanks to Cell Theory and his remix song called Reapers I have been able to get my creative juices flowing again. If you enjoy Mass Effect and dubstep you should check out the song on YouTube or SoundCloud. It's even available for a free download._

_I hope you enjoy this chapter because we are getting so freaking close I can almost taste it. Hopefully if I get some motivation I may even start working on another chapter, even though I have spent all night working on these two._

_I WILL BE GOING OVER THE CHAPTER LATER TO FIX ANY MINOR ERRORS HERE AND THERE! I am just getting really tired and need to get some sleep…so I am posting the semi-edited version up now since I feel bad for you all._

_Please comment, follow and favorite this story if you like it. I really enjoy the comments because they let me know what you all are thinking! Let alone if this is really worth the time and frustration it seems to create when I am feeling dead creatively. Tell me what you like or don't like! Heck even give me your suggestions of what should happen! Is there any quest you would like to see our pair stumble through? How about love interest or dlc that should be completed! Let me know with just a little comment. _

_**3 3 3**__ I love commenter~! 3 They really make me want to write more, meaning you have a higher chance of chapters coming out faster and better! _**_3 3 3_**

* * *

This time his carriage from Solitude to Riverwood was not attacked by bandits, a dragon or god knows what. He was able to rest in the back of the carriage like a normal person without fighting for his life. It was so refreshing that for a moment he considered the idea of becoming a civilian. Even if it was his heart's desire he could never peruse that life style with the World Eater lose upon the land. The carriage rolled to the entrance of the city a few days later on a warm sunny day.

He was grateful to see the city walls for a combination of reasons. Part was because his rations of salted meat was growing rather low. He would be able to have a cooked meal and buy new supplies for later. His armor could use a little work, and elven gear he had collected at the Embassy could be sold for a shiny septum or two. Of course there was the biggest reason, his desire to be reunited with his companion Lydia. He had begun to miss her sarcastic remarks and company on his travels back to the Riverwood, not that she would ever find out.

The dragonborn approached the Sleeping Giant Inn located in the northern section of the small town. Even on such a sunny day some of the townsfolk had gathered inside the inn for a warm meal and a break from their work. They paid the dragonborn little mind as he went to the owner Orgnar and dropped a bag of ten septims onto the counter. The man nodded his head, understand the dragonborns intention and accepted the gold without a word.

He ventured into the only room on the right side of the inn. The room seemed normal in its design. A single sized bed and chest was in the corner in front of the door leaving plenty of space in the room to move about in. To the left against the far wall was a single table covered in silver wear and a bowl of fruits for the renter to snack upon. The dragonborn closed the door behind him and moved to the farthest corner to what seemed to be an average wardrobe. It was empty, yet he knew better than that. He placed his hand against the false back panel and watched as it slid to the side and out of sight revealing a staircase leading down.

Lygleif entered the room to find both Lydia and Delphine standing by the table looking tense. Upon seeing him they seemed to relax, as if they had been expecting someone else.

Delphine was the first to talk with a smile on her face. "You made it out alive. Your gear's safe in my room, as promised. Did you learn anything useful?"

On Lygleif's trip back he had examined the stolen documents from the Thalmor in greater detail than before. He read every word they held and even re-read a few to ensure he knew everything they seemed to know. To his dismay he had discovered the Thalmor to be just as in the dark as the two of them where. But found the other information to be somewhat useful at the very least.

"The Thalmor know nothing about the dragons."

"Really? That seems hard to believe. You're sure about that?"

Lygleif couldn't help but roll his eyes at the woman. He felt like telling her off asking why she would even bother to send him if she wasn't going to believe the information he brought. But he required this woman and her skills to find out more about the dragons. Thus making her an enemy was not in the cards at the moment.

"Yes, I'm sure. They're looking for someone named Esbern."

He pulled his bag off his back and pulled out the letters he had retrieved from the embassy.

"Esbern? He's alive? I thought the Thalmor must have got him years ago. That crazy old man… Figures the Thalmor would be on his trail, though, if they were trying to find out what's going on with the dragons."

"What would the Thalmor want with Esbern?"

"You mean, aside from anting to kill every Blade they can lay their hands on? Esbern was one of the Blades archivists, back before the Thalmor smashed us during the Great War. He knew everything about the ancient dragonlore of the Blades. Obsessed with it, really. Nobody paid much attention back then. I guess he wasn't as crazy as we all thought."

"Well they seem to think he's hiding out in Riften."

"Riften, eh? Probably down in the Ratway, then. It's where I'd go. You better get to Riften. Talk to Bryngolf. He's…..well-connected. A good starting point at the least. Oh…and when you find Esbern….if you think I'm paranoid…you may have some trouble getting him to trust you. Just ask him where he was on the 30th of Frostfall. He'll know what it means."

Delphine toke the papers from his hands and gestured to the chest on the side of the room. Inside was everything he had collected with him to this point. Potions, letters, keys all of it was neatly stored within the chest. He toke a moment to store it away in his bag properly, testing the weight of the bag and its content. A few items from the embassy, such as a complete set of Thalmor robes and two elven maces had to be placed in Lydia's bags if he wished to keep them.

"I have seen you for only a minute and you are already ordering me around like a pack mule."

"I have missed you as well Lydia. Come on we have work to do."

Delphine waved her hand in a dismissing fashion as they exited the hidden room to the Inn above. The sound of music began to fill the air and the voices of others. Lygleif had never realized it before but the room had to be insulated with something other than dirt and wood. Because inside it was deadly silent to the life above.

The two visited the shops around; collecting food, potions while selling their useless junk. They even paid a visit to Alvor's forge, where the dragonborn repaired his armor and strengthened a few elven daggers with Refined Moonstone he had found inside his bag. Once they had done everything they could think of to prepare for the road they began up the northern road towards Whiterun.

"My thane, what is your plan? Are we to go straight to Riften?"

"No I have done more than enough for her right now. I would like to return to my house up in the north."

"Do you mean Windstad Manor?"

"Yes, I believe I deserve a rest. Besides I am sure after we hit up Whiterun and Stonehills I will have enough metal to upgrade a few things. Maybe even made you a better weapon if you are good."

The woman scoffed at him and moved so that she was in lead of the two of them. When she passed him Lygleif could see the smile forming on her lips. The way to this woman's heart was with weapons and armor, who knew?

* * *

It had been days since Vokun had started the fire within the Library. The priest remained asleep within her chambers and a few feared that the blow to the head had been too hard. All eyes where upon Avi'nk, the commander that had landed the blow, and whispers of an up rise had started amongst the draugr. Avi'nk did not believe their priest to be dead and had waited patiently for her to awake. But as the days went on he only felt worry. She had grown so weak in her long solitude. Her body was not as strong as it had once been and her magicka seemed weaker than before. Back in the day if she had wanted to Vokun could have burned everything down in the room within seconds.

After the third day of her sleep Avi'nk and Karrygg entered her chambers below to check on the status of the priest. In her sleep other draugrs had avoided the room, except those scheduled to. Since she was asleep the others had begun to feed their souls to her once more with their energy in hopes it would strengthen her. Now the room was empty except for the sarcophagus that held the sleeping priest. Avi'nk approached the sarcophagus and placed his hand upon the priest shoulder. At first he gently shook her shoulder to try and awaken it, then began to shake violently.

Vokun awoke suddenly in a panic. Her eyes flew open, her adrenaline began to flow within her old veins awaken her drowsy body. Avi'nk was above her shaking her body violently as if something was wrong. She sat up from the stone bed and looked to the two priest, worried of what had happened. She did not remember falling asleep let alone coming back down to the room.

"Fos los folaas Avi'nk?"-"What is wrong Avi'nk?"

"Pruzah hi lahney. Vorey lost zofaas."-"Good you live. The others were afraid."

"Vahr, vahr los Zu'u het?"-"Why, why am I here?"

Avi'nk retreated down the stairs as Vokun moved out of the sarcophagus to look upon her commanders better. Something had transpired in her sleep and she did not like how jittery they seemed to be. Both men dropped to their knees with their heads down as to conceal themselves from her rage.

"Hi ag weyt tum ko sos rahgol."-"You burned the room down in a blood rage."

Slowly it all came back to her. The anger she felt when she could not find what she wanted within her books. How the anger boiled forth and blinded her in rage and destruction. While it seemed they had calmed her down, probably with a blow to the head. She could not remember the status of her library. They said she burned it all down, but she refused to believe she destroyed it all. How could she destroy the books that held the wisdom of the land?

"Viim zey Avi'nk ahrk Karrygg."-"Show me Avi'nk and Karrygg."

The two men lead her up the stairs to the Library. As they began to approach the general population many of her followers dropped to their knees. They bowed their heads down like her commanders had. What could she have done to make them act like this? Did they fear her…or feel bad for her? The smell of burnt parchment reached her noise before she could see the darkened room. Her eyes came to what had once been large wooden doors, now where nothing more than a few dark pieces of wood held up by the iron that bound the wood to the wall. Vokun felt nothing but sadness as she entered the dark room.

The floor was still covered in water that never touched her feet. The walls where charred with dark residues, and although the stone bookcases where not altered their contents where. What had once been colorful leather and glittering words where now just piles of ashes. She truly had burned it all as they told her, in rage. It had been so long since her temper had gotten the better of her like this. It seemed that once she allowed her rage to take over there was always catastrophic results. Vokun's magicka ran over her hand in a white light. An orb ascended above her head and rested there. With the candlelight she could see the destruction better. Her eyes turned to the bookshelves the farthest end of the room where not everything was covered in black. A few charred books where still in place where the stone had gotten too hot for the books to survive.

In the far corner of the room Vokun found one of the only things to survive the fire. The same pink crystal she had been playing with before she lost control. With the edges of her tattered robe she removed the black soot from the crystal till it held its faint ghostly glow once more. Vokun moved with the only surviving piece of her great library to the entrance once more. Her face showed her sadness, thankfully it was concealed from the others by her mask.

"Nox hi unt wah sav nii."-"Thank you for trying to save it."

Avi'nk nodded his head, his eyes focused on the crystal in her hand.

"Ahst suk sil sogaal neilaas. Mu fen kos tok wah nuft nii."-"At least the soul gem survived. We will be able to use it."

"Fos los sil sogaal Avi'nk? Daar sogaal los nid riid."-"What is a soul gem Avi'nk? These gems are nothing important."

Both her commanders shook their heads. Karrygg moved to the draugr at his side and whispered something to him. The man nodded and left the room through the mass to get something. Vokun waited patiently for them to make their point. She knew the gems where useless hunks of earth that the people had found in the deepest minds. They looked pretty and they believed them to be of some value when pulled from the ground. Only problem was the gems where useless. They came in a pinky tone with hints of purple and often broke into smaller pieces. There were rumors of blue stones that where larger, but they two where useless. Their color and clarity could not stand up to sapphires or amethyst and they were horrible building materials. They idea to use them as decoration started because they literally had so many laying around and they were not worth the effort to try and sell.

After a few minutes the draugr returned with an old steel sword. Its dark metal was stained with rust from years of neglect but with some work it would be ready for battle. The blade did seem to hold a faint orange glow to it in the light of her spell. It must have been an illusion upon her eyes though. Weapons could not be enchanted very easily and she did not remember owning any of them. In order to enchant a weapon you had to find the mages and make them work on the blade. They imbued the metal with the spell itself until the weapon or armor held the spell. The only problem was the spell would fade if the mages did not consistently strengthen the magicka. As a result such weapons where often crafted only for battle to show off to other army's. They were used and then discarded for something more reliable.

The draugr had also brought a pink gem much like the one she held in her hand. There's did not have the faint glow from the light above but rather seemed to radiate a glow of its own. She could feel the magicka within and began to wonder what they had done to the gem. Vokun watch in fascination as Avi'nk toke the sword and Karrygg toke the gem. First Avi'nk swiped at the air with the blade and nothing seemed to happen. Though the ghostly amber seemed to follow the blade in the air there was nothing special about it. When the blade was lowered back to the ground, Karrygg placed the pink gem against the blade. The gem grew dim as if something had been sucked out of it and this time when the blade passed through the air fire seemed to follow it.

It was impossible, the sword had been enchanted with some sort of fire spell long ago. Yet now they awoken the spell with the gem, gave it power it once lost and now the sword would burn its foes once more.

"Vir?"-"How?"

"Guniik viim nuft lah wah horvutah sil ko sogaal ahrk gestin sil kotin zahkrii."-"The visitors show us. They use magicka to trap souls in the gem and release the soul into the sword."

"Vir drey nust poltor sil?"-"How did they capture the soul?"

"Voth lah stav nol deykel."-"With the magicka spell from the book."

Vokun could barely contain herself. Those fouls had the answer to her questions all along and they didn't even know! These gems….soul gems could contain the souls of others within them. If the sword could accept the soul's energy then maybe she could find a way to absorb the souls as well! Vokun handed the gem in her hand to Karrygg quickly.

"Viim zey, nu."-"Show me, now."

A party of draugr exited the ruins of her tomb with her and Karrygg. They waited a few minutes for the draugr to space out around them in a circle, in order to defined their priest if need be. Vokun did not mind the precaution, it gave her a chance to enjoy the snow around them. The chill that her dead bones held mimicked that of the snow that fell against her. She did not feel the cold encase her as she would have as a mortal. Instead she allowed the fresh air to fill her lungs, to see the darkened sky above filled with clouds that hid the stars. Icy fog blocked her vision of the world around her. There was the mountains to the west of them that loomed like dark shadows in the sky. The edge of ocean lapped against the rocks not far from them in arithmetic manor. It was nice to hear nature once more. They were not meant to hide in bowls of the earth like the dwemer do.

Finally one of the draugrs returned with a white snow fox in its hand. The creature tried to twist and turn to escape the grip of the one that held it but it was useless. The draugr had a firm hold on the creatures back fur and was not going to release it. Karrygg stepped forward and allowed an odd green magicka to cover his hand. He casted it out at the fox with ease. The fox fur seemed to hold the magicka around it, a faint green glow left the spider web enchantment upon it. Quickly Karrygg plunged his dagger into the creature's chest and craved down, destroying the vital organs within the beast. His other hand stretched forward with the soul gem Vokun had handed to him.

To her amazement a purple glow leapt out of the creatures wound and towards the soul gem. The glow collided with the gem and it seemed as if the gem was absorbing it. When the process was done the snow fox fur no longer held the green magicka that clung to it. The creature was dead and as they claimed the soul seemed to be contained within the gem. Vokun slowly reached out to the extended gem almost afraid of what would happen when her fingers touched it.

At first there was nothing, her fingers touched the warm stone and was able to pick up the gem without anything. Within her cupped hands the gem glowed so vibrantly that she thought it may explode. There had to be a way to absorb this power….there had to be. Vokun closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on the power within the gem. After a few minutes she felt a warm rush of power enter her hands. Her eyes opened to see the dull gem now within her hands. A smile spread over her face and she couldn't help but allow her pleasure to be known.

"Tozeinnu Karrygg. Hi kend mind zey vir wah horvutah sil ko sogaal. Il mii shur siiv zuk dor."-"Perfect Karrygg. You must teach me how to trap the souls in the gems. Let us go find more prey."

Karrygg looked to the south of them, an area her view was blocked by the jagged stones of the small mountain. He seemed to consider the idea but then shook his head no gesturing towards the ruins once more.

"Il zey mind hi diist. Meyz rigir koreid.."-"Let me teach you first. Come back inside."

Vokun did not enjoy being told no by her commanders. It was her job to give the orders around here. But there had been a look upon Karrygg's face when he looked to the south. Something bothered him that way, which besides circling the mountain to the north and then going east there was no other way to go without getting wet. Part of her wanted to collect more souls to find stronger ones that would give her more strength. Maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her but her hands seemed less…old. The dead skin seemed to be a lighter color there as if the soul had done something more then give her strength. Or it could just be her letting her excitement get the better of her. It was her hand and after all what she remembered of normal flesh the hands where often a lighter shade due to the difference in the skin there.

"Bek , mind zey diist ruz mu fen nir."-"Fine, teach me first then we will hunt."

* * *

Lygleif couldn't explain the change between him and Lydia. They didn't seem to be arguing as much over simple things. She didn't seem to curse his childish ways in the last few days. He would have been concerned if they had not been in a carriage most of the time. Maybe it was just the close space that kept her from flying off her handle. After all it was rare for them to enjoy a peaceful ride from hold to hold. From Whiterun they had taken a carriage to Morthal. After checking out the shops for anything useful to buy the continued east out of the city and into the snowy disjointed land that was filled with rivers and passes. Thankfully the area was not always freezing cold as the mountains in front of them where. This made their trudging through the water not as horrible because the water did not freeze to their armor.

Once they had passed the river/lake and dried off. The two moved into the mountains beginning their slow decent to the Stonehills. The area was not too horrible and was merely the hilly area before the large mountains. But it was still a pain in the butt with the amount of snow that dropped to the ground in areas.

Half a day later they arrived at the Stonehills and could see the house of Sorli light by torches. The area had stone walls that mapped out the different areas. To the right was the owner's house, to the left the tents that travelers and miners slept in and straight in front would be the entrance to the mine along with a smelter. The snow had already began to fall over the land turning the bright day into a dim afternoon. The few that where not within the mines had begun to light the torches on Sorli house and around the tents. The main fire was being tended to in order to try and chase some of the chill away.

Lyglief went straight for the Rockwallow Mine with Lydia at his heels. They entered the mine and allowed their eyes to adjust to the dim light. Lydia already knew the plan and pulled out the pickaxe that she carried in her bag. She also pulled out Lygleifs and handed it to him.

"Thanks, you take the left, I'll get the right. Meet back once you have all the ore you can carry."

Lydia rolled her eyes as she moved to the left. "With all the crap you make me carry that won't be very much."

"Yeah well that crap keeps you and I feed!"

Together they spent a few hours in the mind digging away iron ore veins that the miners had exposed already. Together they had tapped into only four veins of iron that had not been picked dry. This meant that together they only had ten pieces of iron ore from the mine. When they regrouped Lydia had asked him if he had one better than her handing over all the ore she had found.

"Unfortunately not…maybe we should have gone southwest of Riverwood and hit the Embershard mine or possible the Halted Steam Camp north of Whiterun. I hear that the bandits there have a mine all to themselves."

They seemed to have struck out and when they emerged from the mine their luck seemed to only get worst. A snow storm was hitting from the north meaning the path they would have taken home was going to be inaccessible. They would have to go back west towards Morthal then north to the Manor. While they had walked through the snow storms in the past it was not normally advised by the guards. They would always go on this long story about how they found frozen adventures who had been dumb and walked through the storm.

"I hate to say this my thane, but maybe we should just set up in a tent and ride out the storm till morning."

Already the temperature had begun to drop and fat snowflakes had begun to stick to the ground. While they could have managed the warmth of the growing fire seemed to call his name. He had to agree with Lydia on this idea. So the two descended to the tents finding ones who had no permanent owner. Their bags where stuck inside the tent on the cold dirt ground to prevent anyone from being a thief. Both he and his companion had to sleep in different tents, for there was not enough room to put to bed rolls in one tent. They were small things covered with a variety of animal furs that helped keep some of the snow out.

For a while the two staid up and conversed about their adventures alone much as they had done in the cart. The local miners offered them pieces of salmon they had cooked over the fire. While the snow came down around them the little circle of tents where merry with conversation and people trying to make a good situation out of a cold night.

* * *

Lygleif awoke in the morning to see that the snow had stopped falling down. The ground around them was covered with about an inch or so of the good stuff. During the night the fire had gone down and was nothing more than mere embers. He stroked the fire with the same stick they had been using last night to adjust the logs. On the far side of the fire was where the miners had piled the logs of wood. Though buried in the snow it was not hard to find the cords and move them to the fire. The snow had not melted yet which left the logs rather dry, except for the thin layer of snow he had not dusted off before throwing them into the fire.

With the fire coming back to life Lygleif began to examine the area to see how the roads had held up. No doubt they would be trudging out of the area till they found the warmer waters of Morthal. He was not the only one awake, the owner of the house son named Sirgar was out trudging in the snow. Lygleif got up and went to the man wondering why he left the comfort of his own house.

"Are you alright lad?"

"Yeah, just collecting more firewood for the house. You slept with the miners last night? I would be carful pa says they can't be trusted. You have to watch them closely and make sure they don't steal the iron."

"I see, well let me help you. Also I was wondering if the owner of these minds buys ore from people?"

The boy's face lit up as he moved to the houses personal firewood stash by the smelter. Together they grabbed several logs each and then went to the house. Sirgar invited him in to help deposit the wood and talk to his mother Sorli Sorli was a woman with tan skin and white braided hair, though her hair was white and she had a grown child, the woman oddly did not look very old. She eyed the stranger in her house with a glare as her son introduced them. "I'm sorry I don't need anymore miners. So you should probably pass by."

"Of course, I am not really a miner by profession. I was just curious."

The woman let out a scoff and turned her head back to her work. Sirgar shrugged, "Better luck next time." Without waiting for the stranger to leave he went and sat down at a table to continue the breakfast he had left to gather wood. Lygleif tried to be a good man….he truly did. But as he turned to leave the door all he could see was the pile of iron in the cupboard. Neither of the occupants were watching him, it would be so easy. In the end he couldn't resist the temptation. He toke his bag and began to fill it with all the iron ingots and ore he could find laying around. After twenty or so pieces he quickly exited the house before they noticed the missing ore.

Lygleif stumbled slowly down the snowy hill to his companion Lydia, who was still peacefully sleeping. He moved to the edge of her tent shaking her foot with his hand. "Lydia get up, we need to go."

The woman just rolled onto her side with a grumble. Again he shook her leg and when she did not respond he grabbed her and began to drag her out of the bed tent. Finally she woke up to kick him in the shin. "Alright I am up…geez. Is a dragon attacking or something?"

"Divines I hope not. We need to go the house, gather your things and let's go."

His companion did not argue with him but instead did as he requested of her. She grabbed her back and searched through it once to ensure she had everything still. Once satisfied she pulled out a fresh red apple one of the miners had given her in an attempt to romance his companion. As they began to trudge through the snow Lydia ate her apple in silence, walking extra slow to match her thane. When they were finally out of eye sight she stopped and looked to Lygleif with a glare.

"What did you do, and why are you going so damn slow?"

"Just let me see your bag Lydia."

"I'm sworn to carry your burdens…."

He opened his bag and dumped half the iron bars he had stolen from the house into Lydia's bag. Once their bags where all secure he handed the bag back to Lydia. He didn't bother to look at her face, avoiding the glare she probably had for him.

"I thought we only got ten ingots….did you steal from the house?"

"Yeah yeah, I stole it. I went in to ask if she would buy it and the woman brushed me off. Completely ignored me in her own home….so I toke the metal. They were complaining of the miners stealing anyways. Probably because they are so rude to everyone."

"Well I can't condone stealing…but the ore will be useful. Maybe now you can afford some furniture."

Lygleif rolled his eyes, "I have furniture….just not a lot. Hey maybe if your nice I will make you your own bed."

"You are just tried of sleeping on the floor in your own home."

The two went off down the trail, bantering back and forth of the status of his manor that was currently in the construction stages of its insides. Hopefully within a half a day they would make it down the mountains hills and be able to go north towards his manor. If they were lucky and the snow had not hit the manor to hard they could be sleeping inside a warm house for once instead of a tent in the cold.

* * *

Karrygg kept to his word when they arrived back inside. He immediately went to off in the tomb and told her to meet him in her room. While she felt uncomfortable with being ordered around like a child, she could manage till she learned the spell. Vokun returned to her chamber and pounder the situation while she waited for the draugr to return. It seemed odd that they had the knowledge of how to pull souls out yet failed to mention it. Maybe because they thought it would give her false hopes. After all Karrygg expression was one of surprise when the soul gem went dim in her hands. Maybe they could not extract the souls and thought that telling her of the gems new purpose would be cruel?

Either way it seemed her followers had learned new tricks in her absence. It made her wonder what else they knew of that they were hiding from her. Was she just a formality until they could remove her from power? If that was the case why did they bother to fight her in the library? They obviously extracted her from a burning inferno. Why save your enemy?

The answer was that you don't save your enemy. Unless you still need them for something. Years of being out of power had left her paranoid. Maybe it was just a symptom of her 'old age'. If that was the case she could only imagine what the other shadow priest where like. Had they awoken with her, had their followers abandoned their sleeping form? It was possible that she was the only priest left. Once she grew stronger she would have to venture out and see if the other holds had held properly.

After some time Karrygg opened the wooden doors of her room. In his arms was a purple book with the symbol of oblivion pressed into it. He handed her the book.

"Etaak daar deykel ahrk mindoraan luh."-"Read this book and understand the magicka."

Vokun doubted that reading a book was enough for her to learn the skill necessary to cast such magic. But then again why would she make him a commander if she did not trust his words. The pages where old but not nearly as old as the books her library once held. Within was a language that toke some time to get used to. It was an adaptation of their language, but it had changed over time. Karrygg stood by her side explaining words that she did not understand at first. While his interpretation of the words seemed off it was enough for her to grasp the new meanings.

A few hours later she had read the book three times back to back. While she didn't feel any different she was beginning to understand the concept in which the spell was based off. It seemed to have two parts, one to contain the soul and another to tone it to the gems. It seemed that any gem could be filled by a soul even if you just had it in a bag. The problem was that not every soul would fit into the small gems. Or at least that was the feeling she got from the text. It spoke of larger souls being harder to contain and thus harder to rip out upon death.

Karrygg brought the spell forth and allowed her to examine the magicka that ran over his hands. They seemed to be tinted green, like the fox fur, yet the spell was not active. Probably because he had not tried to contain his own soul.

"Hi unt nu."-"You try now."

He was right, she could only study for so long, and eventually she had to cast it. Vokun raised her hand from her darkened robe and extended it. She thought of the words the book said, how to build the magicka how to form it. For a minute she stood there staring at her own hand concentrating. Finally the warmth began to spread over her flesh and the green power seemed to grow. If she had created the spell right she would be able to trap souls like Karrygg had done to the fox. Her commander smiled bowing down to her.

"Hi mindok pah Zu'u mindok nu."-"You know all I know now."

"Nox hi hi drehni hadrim ferd zey Avi'nk"-"Thank you Karrygg. If you don't mind send me Avi'nk."

The draugr nodded his head and descended the stairs to the exit of her room. She waited for him to go before placing the book to the side. Avi'nk was supposed to be her first in command, under her. If there was anything they were hiding it was coming out now. How else could she rule them if she was left in the dark about everything. The world had changed around her in the years she slept. It had become foreign and new…..yet still held the remnants of the past. Because of this it was still familiar enough for her. Enough for her to go off her instinct and gut about what to do in such situations.

Avi'nk arrived at the door alone. He entered her room and descended to one knee as was now customary. She waved her hand releasing him from the degrading pose.

"Los hi zein iliis frahzogin nol zey Avi'nk?"- "Are you two hiding information from me Avi'nk?"

"Nid, Zu'u zeyda dreh ni mindok fos hi drehni mindok gaht dii haar."- "No, I just do not know what you don't know yet my priest."

"Waan ful gesaag zey fos nok wah sedin do dii qoth. Vahr drey Karrygg laan wah fey hond nol nii?"-"If so tell me what lies to the south of my tomb. Why did Karrygg want to stay away from it?"

"Til los tiidnavir naal jul. jul wo vis zaan."-"There is a house owned by a man. A man who can shout…."

Vokun would not have believe such words if they had left another's lips. This man, this mortal man could shout? How was that possible? The dov have been gone for years, the knowledge of how to use their words lost by the ignorance of man. The only humans that could utter such twisted words where hunted and killed long ago. Those taught the ability by the damn Parrthurnax. This man had to be a student of that damn dragon and in her domain. She would have him tortured slowly for such an ability. It was not their way to speak the words of the dov. Their words where twisted and did not even compare to the power of the Dov. It was an insult to the dov and Alduin.

"Rok kend kos kuz ulaak pus dopaan wah dispatch daar nisaad."-"He must be taken care of. Prepare a small group to dispatch this fake."

Avi'nk nodded to his priest and was out the room once more. She would enjoy the death of this man, make it her first step towards her master's rise to power. Those that dared use the tongue of the dov would fear their wraith and power. The fall of Parrthurnax followers would insight and the world would be left to their true ruler.

* * *

Night had fallen some time ago and they were just arriving back at the Windstad Manor. It seemed the snow had hit, just not as horrible as below. So while they were not walking through shin length powder the speed they had picked up since Morthal had diminished to nothing but a slow crawl. It was nice to once more see the manor lights glowing in the distance. He had never been so happy to see the damn house before. As soon as the two entered the house with his key he dropped his bag, and all of its goodies off on the side of the room.

"Oh thank the divines. I thought my back was going to break."

"That's what happens when you insist on caring all this crap around."

Lydia stripped off her own bag and locked the door behind them with her spare key. She immediately went to through the next set of twin doors to the dining table. At the table eating his meal was Valdimar an older housecarl entrusted to Lygleif by Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone of Hjaalmarch. Honestly he didn't really care much for Valdimar, two men exploring the land together just seemed odd. There was something about his facial hair that just made him feel odd. Lydia had been delighted to see how much Valdimar unnerved him and had teased him ever sense.

Since he rarely toke Valdimar with him the man stayed at the house protecting it from roaming bandits and others who tried to take over the home. He also kept it stock with food and was able to secure items such as wooden logs, stone and clay for him, for a fee of course. Of course there were also the animals, such as the cow and chickens, outside which he fed and tended to and collected the milk and eggs daily. The man seemed to do it all and didn't really mind. He had commented on how he enjoyed the peace and solitude the house seemed to have.

The man looked to his Thane and the other housecarl with a smile on his face. "Welcome back my thane, it is good to see you! Are you and Lydia hungry? I can prepare you some Steamed Mudcrap Legs or maybe a nice bowl of Clam Chowder?"

Lydia sat down at one of the chairs allowing her head to press against the wood. "Anything Valdimar, just make it hot…"

Lygleif couldn't argue with that logic, he was planning on sitting down when Lydia stopped him and pointed to the second story of the building. "Go build me a bed or else."

"Or else what, you going to cuddle with me in mine?"

"You're unbelievable…."

Valdimar had moved to the cooking pot at the fireplace in the middle of the house and next to the table. He couldn't help but contain his laughter at the subject. "Oh I have missed you two so. Lydia do not be sore that you do not have a bed yet."

Lygleif went off to obtain his materials like a defeated puppy up then up the stairs. Already the wood had been cut and placed in the upstairs area on the left side for Lydia. He had just never gotten around to getting enough leather and nails for the contraption. With his new iron he casted a set of nails out and stripped the leather hide of a deer he had found into the strips. With hammer in hand he began to hammer the wood into place. The leather was used to tie the wood together to help hold it into place.

He went back downstairs to find Lydia eating a white creamy soup. It smelt delicious and his stomach craved the nutrition and warmth. But once he sat down to eat he wouldn't be in the mood to finish his project. He retrieved the hay he had been storing downstairs in a barrel for her bed. By now the hay had dried out completely and was soft to the touch. It would be perfect to sleep upon. He also grabbed two wolf hides to use as filler.

Valdimar shook his head at the mess he was making while he tried to carry the hay up the stairs. No doubt somebody would be cleaning up the stray straws that seemed to fall out no matter how he held it. Once upstairs he threw the hay into place and began to smooth it out so that their where very few lumps. He placed the two skins on top of the hay to make it seem softer and he was done.

It had taken him an hour to finish making her bed for her. With the task completed and his body beginning to give up from exhaustion the dragonborn returned to the table to find a fresh bowl of soup waiting there. He sat down and began to eat the soup not really worrying about was inside it. It didn't matter he was beyond tasting his food. He just wanted the warmth and the ability to go to bed.

On the bottom floor there were three rooms, each directed in a different direction. The east wing was an armory where he displayed the armors and weapons he had collected. The northern wing was a storage room for anything extra or not as important. Often this is where the extra blades that he needed to strengthen went. The final wing was to the west and was a bedroom for Lygleif. Once his soup was done he left the empty bowl on the table and retired to his room. There was a single double bed with a few wardrobes and a safe to keep his valuables locked away.

Unlike at the inn days ago when he had drunkenly thrown his armor aside, Lygleif now slowly pealed the pieces away and tucked them within the trunk at the foot of his bed. Once everything was removed, even his normal shirt and pants, he slipped under the green sheets and into his bed. Unlike the beds at the inns this one smelt only of him. It smelt like his home, and was just as warm and inviting. It was one of the few places he could gain peace. Real peace and not worry about his life ending because of it.

It toke only minutes for the dragonborn to fall asleep into a deep sleep. Drool ran down the corner of his mouth and onto the soft pillow below. His dreams would be filled of old fights and enemies he once fought. But also of friends he had made along the way since he awoke near Helgen six months ago.

* * *

It wasn't until morning that Avi'nk had his group picked out. He claimed they fighters were rusty and needed the time to practice so they would not die against the man. Now fully armored, with old blades once more in their hands the group of five draugrs left her tomb to the south in search of the house Avi'nk had spoken of. Vokun had wished them good luck and even given a small speech about how their actions would please their dragon lord. This seemed to rally the men and they left the ruins energized and ready for battle. Vokun had wanted to stay outside but Avi'nk claimed it wasn't wise. He didn't want the man to come to the ruin and try to harm her. He wasn't worth her strength or time to worry about anymore. Avi'nk was going to take care of the problem for her.

It was obviously morning when he was awoken by yelling from Lydia and Valdimar. He was still groggy from the deep sleep he was in but managed to find his orcish greatsword and pants before leaving his room. The front doors to the house where open, from where Lydia had busted out to help Valdimar with the invaders. He expected bandits or even a few forsworn. Instead though as he exited out into the early sun he saw the draugr. Even Lygleif was stunned to see the dead outside of a tomb or hallow that they crept around. For them to come to his house, meant there had to be more of them nearby.

Already his housecarls had dispatched of two of the draugrs and where working on the next two. Leaving only one left for him. Without his armor he went forward towards the final enemy swinging his sword up high to strike. He did not expect the creature to let out a dragon shout on him. A shout that launched him through the opened doors of his house and to the ground. His back slammed against the hard unforgiving stone floors of his house.

Outside he could hear Lydia shouting his name out, asking if he was alright. A groan left his lips as he tried to sit himself back up. The creature had begun its advance into the house and stood at the entry way looking down at him. Those glowing blue eyes piercing into his very soul.

"Dir ko for do Vokun!"-"Die in the name of Vokun!"

Lygleif did not understand the creature's words but understood it had tried to tell him something important. He Draugr raised its blade and slammed it down with intent of ripping him in two. Thankfully Lygleif was able to throw up his greastsword in time to block the attack. The metal biting into his right hand as he tried to keep the draugr blade from slamming down on him.

"LYDIA!"

He heard the woman's feet as she went up the stairs and to them. Her steel sword slicing into the enemy above him. It was enough to wound the creature but not enough to kill it. The draugr turned its attention to Lydia, giving him enough time to raise to his feet. Together they pierced through the corpses body until it finally stopped moving and fighting back.

"My thane are you alright?"

"I'm alright, just a little blood. I am more concerned about our uninvited guest. Tell me Valdimar have the draugr been a problem for you lately? It is unusual to see them outside of their crypt."  
Valdimar walked into the room kicking the fallen corpse with his foot as if he did not trust the beast. "No, this is the first time they have attacked. There is Ustengrav to the south of us. But that does not explain why the draugr are out this far north."

Though it was cold outside Lygleif didn't seem to notice. He walked into the fresh snow examining the other corpses. In total five draugr had attacked his home, which seemed very unlikely. Something had lured the creatures out of their hiding spot. He walked to the south, just ten or so feet forward to the carpenter's workbench and the tree's. He could not see Ustengrav, though he knew of its existence since him and Lydia often avoided going near it on their way back home. No they were too far for the creatures to see them and want to investigate.

Lygleif turned to look back to his house to view the damage when he noticed something odd. To the north of his house, behind the cliffs seemed to be a stone statue. "What in the name of talos is that…?"

Lydia followed his gaze to the stone figure they had missed so many times in the past. The stone was the same color as the mountain and often covered in snow. He must have believed it an odd outcropping. But now as he gazed straight at it he knew there was something there. "Lydia get your gear together, we need to get a closer look. I don't like the looks of that."

There was no argument from his hosecarl, she merely ran back inside and up the stairs to where her armor was. Lygleif followed suit after staring at the odd shape for a few minutes. What could possibly be over there that made the draugr attack?

Fifteen minutes later the two of them where dressed back in their smelly armor. They had not had a chance to clean the metal let alone themselves. "I can't believe we fight in this stuff." Lydia mumbled as they walked around the edge of the house and towards the odd rocks. The followed the hill down and up and around till the finally could see the stone figure fully in shape. The stone he noticed was just the top bit of what seemed to be an old ruin, forgotten by time. "What in the hell is that?"

They walked towards the single stone entrance, his companion admiring the craft that went into building this place. "Even after all these years it is still standing, I wonder who it was built for? You think this is where the draugr came from?"

Lygleif looked to her with a grin on his face, "I don't know but I intend to find out what's inside."


	6. 6 The High Gate Ruins

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Bethesda Studios and I own nothing except for the OC and plot. This is a nonprofit work.

Dun dun dun. Our hero has finally found the ruins of the dragon priest and is about to descend. What will happen?

I hope you all enjoyed the double chapter post and it made up for my silence!

I have been looking over some of the chapters and found them to be really spazzy and short stuffed in areas. Which is disappointing. I will try to refine it and make it not feel like it is being rushed in later chapters. At the same time I was looking at other stories posted and was amazed at the number count I was finding. Vokun is on the front page without filters and at five chapters with 26,746 words. The one above called Dragonborn is at about 31 Chapters with 19,664 words. I suppose my point is that even though it has taken us forever to get to this point you all are getting more than most stories produce. IS that a good thing? By the way I apologize if our dragonborn responses seems a little dull. I try to follow the games script and the game has the character a man/woman of little words.

SilverIceRing thanks for the review/comment of chapter 5! I know I feel bad it has taken this long When I originally planned out the chapters I was supposed to have them meeting around chapter three or four. Originally we were not even going to meet Vokun until that chapter. I personally hate stories that start out showing two characters and before you know them they are hooking up and so forth. It makes it hard for me to be interested in them or what they may be dealing with. Which is probably why it has taken me so many chapters to get here. As to her dying to his blade, that is an interesting idea. I could cut this all short and end it all quickly with her against the dragonborn. Or I can extend it all and have her help against alduinI suppose it depends on if people like the story enough to want it to continue or not. Dun dun dunt like. Help me make this a better reading experience for you all! I cant know what the problems are!

3 I have mentioned before but I got the list together now. So I would like to thank Doci, Agent FireBird, Twonki, Ruadhan2300, Tem-Ohki, mitunsvienelamorte, Chefu, Dath Caesarius SilverIceRing, bandit2096 and reality deviant for following Vokun's Defiance. 3

3 I also want to thank mitunsvienelamorte, wyerking, Lord Hydra for adding Vokun's Defiance to your favorite list. 3

P.s. If you do not want your screen name mentioned just message me and I will remove it!

* * *

This morning had started out so simple. Avi'nk sent out a few pawns to dispose of the foul tongued man and 'life' was supposed to go on. It was a simple task she had given him and yet somehow it seemed to blow up in their face. Not long after her followers left to do her will, there was a new problem. A woman, a damn normal human woman was cutting down her draugr like rats. A small party of draugr had been waiting by the entrance of her tomb in order to report the success or failure of the first group. If the original group failed, these pawns where to be sent out to finish the job at hand. This woman's presence could mean a variety of things, had the original party even made it to the home of the foul tonged man? The intruder did not seem interested in pressing further within her tomb, according to the newest reports the woman was waiting for something or someone in the entrance room of the tomb.

The woman's presence had brought up an interesting idea to the dragon priest. Had they fallen so far that any traveler could cut them down? These where supposed to be the best warriors of her hold, yet they fell within minutes to the woman and her fire. Had her followers become too weak in their attempt to keep her alive while she slumbered? While her lord would 'appreciate' the loyalty of her and her followers, their newfound weakness would not be acceptable. What good is an army that cannot fight? Already she could feel Alduins eyes piercing into her very soul…..even her own life would not be spared if her fears where correct.

When the intruder had first entered the tomb Vokun had been attending other matters within the tomb. She was interested in getting a group together to collect souls for her, let alone find larger vessels then the puny gems in her possession. Avi'nk did not consult his priest as he began to declare orders to the rest of the draugr. It was from the lowest of pawns that Vokun heard of the intruder and the proclamation to leave the woman alone, as long as she ventured no further inside.

Anger filled her boney frame as she went to her commanders. How dare they make such a decision without her consolation! Let alone such a weak and pathetic decision. If the woman had no intention to go deeper into the tomb she would have left already or never entered to begin with. It seemed her commanders had enjoyed too many years alone for her taste. They had developed the nasty habit of making their own choices, a habit she would have to break quickly if the other draugr where to respect her. Now was not the time to punish her commanders for such an action, they needed to deal with the intruder before any sort of punishment could be dealt out. Vokun intended to kill the woman quickly, there was no reason to cower like animals in the tunnels below, let alone waste more of her useless followers on the issue. Vokun would do what Avi'nk should have done from the beginning.

"Zu'u fen oblaan daar nu Avi'nk."- "I will end this now Avi'nk."

It seemed her orders where falling on death ears though. Avi'nk just pushed past the priest his hand wrapping around her wrist, forcing her to follow him. Together they went down towards the bottom of the tomb again, towards her room. They walked inside the room and while she foolishly moved to the center of the room, Avi'nk stayed by the doors. Not a words was said between the two as they stared at each other waiting. Vokun expected an apology from her commander, but Avi'nk seemed to wait for something else. Two minutes later Karrygg opened the door and slipped into the room next to Avi'nk. She was beginning to feel uneasy about the situation which was presented to her. The draugr normally have such a blank face yet Karrygg face was not blank. It could be her own paranoia but the man seemed almost worried about something. Had the woman pushed further in while they debated the subject?

"Zu'u los laagus do hin hinskaal stig . Zu'u fen krii miil ahrk oblaan daar 'u los dovah haar do daar qoth, hi fent thaar zey ahrk zey enarah!"-"I am tired of your incompetence. I will kill the woman and end this game. I am the dragon priest of this tomb, you shall obey me and me alone!"

Karrygg gave her a sympathetic look as he wedge himself between Vokun and Avi'nk. While he was not her favorite he seemed to picking her side in this argument. It seems she may have made a judgment error all those years ago. Avi'nk was once her friend and when she assumed the role of dragon priest he became her adviser in battle. Years of solitude and power had corrupted his loyalty to her, or else they wouldn't be having this dispute.

"Kir il mii-"-"Please let us-"

Karrygg was trying to reason between the two of them. Avi'nk would have nothing to do with it though. He shot his subordinate a look that made the man immediately go silent. They stared at each other for a moment before Karrygg moved out of the way of the priest and Avi'nk.

"Zu'u los krod wuth fahdon nuz hi dreh ni mindok daar yor los ni vost wah mu'ul mii ahrk Zu'u fen ni gelaad hi wah kos un tum uv voz Zu'u fen fus 'u los ko imaar nu."-"I am sorry old friend but you do not know this new world. You are not fit to rule us and I will not allow you to be our death. Stand down or else I will force you. I am in control now."

"Hi fund ni yin!"- "You wouldn't dare."

Avi'nk face twisted to something she had never seen. His calm composure melted away to the monster inside. Those glowing eyes seemed to burn like embers as they grew wide and wild. The rusty blade at his side was pulled from its sheath and to her throat. The tip resting against the base of her neck, as if it would do something.

Avi'nk had declared war and she was not afraid to accept his invitation to battle. If her heart was still beating she would have felt it speed up to the point of exploding out of her chest. The magicka that laid dormant inside her spread like wildfire down her veins to her hands to be casted out. Without a word the dark magic spread forth from her fingers and over her body. It clung to her like armor and hardened to her dead flesh. Vokun was able to cast her Ebonyflesh before either of the men realized what she was doing. Quickly they reacted, for while diminished in power, she was still a threat to them in such an enclosed area.

Avi'nk released a cry as he shoved his blade forward with the intention of piercing her neck and giving Karrygg enough time to pull his own blade forth. The magicka weaved over her skin acted like heavy armor. While the blade did not penetrate her magicka this time, she could feel the pure force of the blow from the man, and automatically toke a step back. Already they seemed to be pushing her further into the room. In the hall leading down to her room the sound of the dead began to echo down. Avi'nks call had summoned the draugr above in the rest of the tomb. Why Vokun expected the creatures to raise their blades against Avi'nk and Karrygg she didn't know. Instead her followers entered the room with blades pointed at the priest that had lead them in life and death.

All she could feel was anger, that blinding furry that allowed her to blindly burn the library. Like a drug rage and adrenaline pumped through her body and into her mind. Her vision grew clouded as she allowed the rage to take over. Everyone was an enemy and no one would be spared in this battle. It seemed the whole hive of followers where to die in this battle. Vokun would be forced to find her master and raise a new army to fight under their command.

A golden glow ran over her skin as the ancient fire formed over dead hands. The fire may have seemed harmless in her hands, the moment it was released the fire would consume all in its path. With the spell formed in her mind she was ready to cast it forth and did not wait for the traitors to try and stop her. The incineration spell flowed from her hands and into the room and hall.

The dried out skin of the draugrs instantly caught fire by her magic. The old Nord's voices could be heard as they called out in pain from her magicka. The corpses began to burn and those that were to weak to stand against her fell to the ground, the light in their eyes being snuffed out. Not everyone would fall to her magicka so easily and while it slowed down the other corpse walkers they continue to use their sheer numbers to physically force Vokun back and into her personal chamber. They spilled down the hallway and into her room circling the dragon priest like a caged animal.

"Los hi ful mariil Vokun tol hi fund ald fos hi vis ni imaar?" –"Are you so selfish Vokun that you would destroy what you cannot control?"

The time to talk was over and Vokun could only see red as she once again called forth her magic and began to release the fire from her hands to those that stood against her. There was confusion and panic as the draugr responded to her actions. They were hesitant to strike her hard enough to kill or maim her. While the blows where not deadly she could still feel the force of the steel against her magic, the barrier clinging to her skin beginning to break away as they chipped at her. With every blow of her magicka more dead came down into the room to replace their fallen comrades. At this rate everyone within the tomb would be killed before long.

"Rek los rem mul. Mu kend kolost ek ont zuk!"-"She is too strong. We must contain her once more!"

Avi'nk barked out orders to his followers over the sounds of the chaos. Instantly blades began to drop to the ground as the draugr latched onto Vokun like leeches. While Vokun could kick and squirm, removing a few draugr with her frantic movements, the sheer weight and numbers of the dead had Vokun thrown off her balance and to the ground in minutes. As the dead lifted their screaming priest from the ground Avi'nk secured the woman's wrist behind her back. Vokun could feel the leather he used to tie around her wrist biting into her dead flesh. The leather did nothing to stop her magicka from flowing, but made it impossible to aim properly at her captures.

The traitors did not give their priest time to recover from her stunned state. With speed they did not normally exhibit the creatures carried her to the stone prison Vokun had escaped only weeks before. They intended to seal her inside once more as she had been before. Once the priest was out of the way they could continue their wretched existence as they saw fit.

Inhuman screams left her dried throat as she began to realize Avi'nk's plan to deal with her. Her mind wild with rage Vokun could not find the words to threaten them with. All she could do was thrash and continue to throw as much fire from her tied hands as possible. But this was all in vain. Avi'nk had the numbers and they quickly threw their priest back into the stone sarcophagus that had been her prison. They still held her down, pinning her body and hands against the stone to keep her from fighting back.

"Zu'u los krod ko aanvorey beneruvos hi fen kos mul ganog wah inaak mii ont zuk."-"I am sorry Vokun. Maybe in another century you will be strong enough to lead us once more."

The hands began to leave her thrashing form but it was too late. The stone lid to the sarcophagus was in place and once more she was sealed away. The lid was laced with old magicka, magicka that could seal the priest away forever if maintained properly. Vokun screamed and thrashed in her prison. Her cry's echoing the small chamber in a deifying fashion. The undead did not echo her and they do not offer her comforting words. Instead those that could still move grabbed their dead or weakened brothers from the ground. The room was cleaned of the bodies of the dead so they could not offer Vokun comfort in their death. Once the room was empty Avi'nk ordered the doors to be sealed and for no one to enter the tomb of their priest. He intended to starve her of their souls and force the priest into the only form of death they could know now.

* * *

Lygleif hated the smell to these old ruins. For some reason those that constructed these massive ruins always felt the need to leave food inside. As far as they knew the Draugrs did not eat any sort of food, nor where they able to smell the stench. The places often had little air circulation which left the same rotting smell for years and years. Lygleif had learned long ago to stop searching through the burlap bags that where tucked away on the book shelves in these ruins. They often held the remnants of a rotting tomato or apple.

Though the places always smelled of death, in general the ruins where not that horrible. The draugrs always kept the basins and torches lit and always left some sort of path through the entire ruin. He never had to spend time digging out the buried tunnels in order to find a way out. Though it would be a lie if Lygleif said he never did wonder what could be hiding behind the fallen stone.

Together Lygleif and his companion Lydia entered the ruin ready for battle. His orcish greatsword was already in his hands while Lydia held onto an eleven mace, one of the few he found earlier within the embassy, and an iron shield. The two immediately went to the right and up the stairs into the entrance room. Half the room was collapsed in on itself, forcing them to travel down the left side. While generally they could always travel through a few rooms before finding the dead, they were now faced with a woman. The woman was not a wild teen that had just been released from home. Judging by how she stood this was not the first time she had seen combat, let alone a tomb like this. The woman wore leather armor trimmed in a tan fur. She was obviously a Nord by her honey skin, yet unlike most nords she didn't seem to have a sword or gauntlets on her. In the candle light of the room he could see the dirty blond strands of hair that fell from her bun, no doubt a lovely compliment to her honey skin.

It was not uncommon to find other adventures within the caverns of the old ruins. Unfortunately it was more common to find a bandit group using the old ruins as their base. The idea of bandits so close to his home was unnerving to say the least. He was often not there and left only Valdimar in charge of the estate. The older man could surely be over thrown if enough men came at him. Lygleif had to decide quickly if the woman was to be a friend or foe before she noticed his presence.

The dragonborn dropped down into a crouched position, his large sword nestled in his hands In front of him ready to attack. The first few steps where fine. His body seemed to silently creep closer and closer to the woman as if he was a master at this. His luck as it would have, ran out rather quickly. The side of his heavy armor let out a shrill squeak as metal scraped against stone. He had misjudged his distance from the rubble and now alerted the woman to his presence. This was why Lygleif was not a master thief. The woman turned and raised her hand to cast her magicka towards him. He was ready to rush forward and meet her in combat, yet the woman dropped her hands to her sides and smiled to him. Friend, she had to be…

"Who are you?" Lygleif asked as he stood up straight placing his weapon back in its sheath. The large blade tended to put people off when he refused to hide it away. He supposed it showed little trust in the stranger.

"I'm Anska. Are you here to help?"

"Help with what?"

"I've finally located Vokun's crypt! The scroll I'm looking for just has to be here. Maybe you could help me find it, I just know it's in here."

The woman was obviously excited now at the mention of her quest. Lydia had walked forward from her spot by the door and began to examine the dead draugr in which Anska had been previously staring at. He felt by the way the woman talked some little red flag should have gone off in his brain. Vokun? The name was not one he was familiar with, but when was he ever familiar with the ancients and their names?

"Vokun?"

"Some old priest buried here long ago. I've been searching for his tomb for a few years now."

Well that was especially descriptive. Judging by the presence of the draugr this was not a priest of Mara or any of the divines. Whine left only the wicked daedra. It was possible then that this priest was still 'alive' within the tomb below. He contemplated asking the woman more about this Vokun person but Lydia stole his attention with a wave of her hand. She had grabbed onto the draugrs armor and pulled him inches off the ground some. It was obvious that the creature had been killed with fire, judging by the scorch marks around the body on the ground. And by her expression the kill had to be still fresh. The woman was a mage, a mage looking for a scroll was never a good thing.

"What scroll?"

"It's probably meaningless to you, but according to family legend it links our bloodline back to Ysgramor himself."

Ysgramor….now that was a name that sounded familiar. If he was correct Ysgramor was the leader of the five hundred Companions who came to Skyrim to reclaim their land from the Elves. The companion group in Whiterun was founded by Ysgramor and currently holds a few piece of the man's legendary axe. While Lygleif could see the academic interest in such a scroll it didn't seem like a reason to die for. It also brought up the strange question of why this Vokun person would have the scroll within his crypt?

"What kind of help do you need?"

"If Vokun is as powerful as I think, I may need a little help um…..dealing…with him."

"What's in it for me?"

"You can have anything except the scroll of course."

Once more his eyes turned to his housecarl Lydia. She was done messing with the charred corpse of the draugr. She seemed to sense his uneasiness this woman's quest brought him. Anska could be telling the truth completely, then again she could be using his good nature kindness against him. The woman seemed confident and nodded a yes to him, encouraging him to accept. Maybe Lydia believed this woman would be helpful in battle, after all they intended to clear out the ruin and any of its inhabitants.

"I'll help."

"Great with the three of us this should be easy."

Lygleif glanced over the room to check for anything of value, besides the two Draugr there seemed to be nothing out in the open. Lydia approached him as he went to the iron door that continued out of the room. She extended her hand and dropped twenty gold pieces into his open palm, the only loot she was able to find on the corpses. While it wasn't much the old ruins seemed to always have septims hidden around. If he spent enough time searching it was possible to make a decent little profit from all the spare change.

As a group the exited the room with weapons drawn. The housecarl Lydia had switched to a Hunting bow and steel arrows, since there group was now much larger. Anska refused to lead the pack into the next room, claiming she was more of a long range fighter. As a result Anska was positioned right in the middle of the group, which judging by her raised glowing hands may have been a bad decision.

Lygleif followed the only passable route to the right and up the small set of stairs. It was common in these ruins to go from tiny hallways to massive rooms, much like the one they were entering. The room was massive and had a second floor to it that could only be accessed by the stairs located in the back of the room. Large stone pillars were set upon a large square platform in the middle of the room. The pillars no doubt kept the ceiling of this massive room from crumbling in. On the platform was a table with what looked to be a body and adjacent to the table was a still functioning draugr. The beast had not seen him at the door and immediately the dragonborn froze in his spot hoping to avoid detection until he had a clear shot. His newest companion, Anska, seemed to have a different idea of attack.

Orange light filled the small hallway as she summoned her destructive fire magic. The woman didn't wait for the group to get closer or for the dead to even attack. Instead she raised her hand and casted out the fire that slammed into the unsuspecting draugr. While it was a good shot, it alone would not be enough to take down the beast. All Anska had done was enrage the beast and make any chance of sneaking impossible. The creature let out a scream and charged towards the entrance of the room that they were still waiting in. He had no choice but to charge into the room and swing his greatsword at the creatures. The hallway was far too small for someone his size to swing around his greatsword successfully.

The creature and dragonborn locked blades near the entrance of the room. Already he could begin to hear the sound of more creatures moving within the room. If he allowed it they would become overrun by the undead within minutes. Lydia sensing the danger had already turned her attention to the back of the room and began to aim her bow towards the shuffling sounds, ready to try and hold back the creatures for him. Lygleif needed to dispatch the creature now, and raised his blade to plunge it down into the beats. That was when he felt a burning pain radiate against his face, orange light blurred his vision and forced him to stumble away and hide behind a pillar.

Instantly he knew the attack was not from a draugr, for the undead seemed to specialize in ice magic, as if their dead bodies could not produce the heat needed for fire. Anska had acted without thinking and like a fool sent another fireball at the creature, hitting not only the draugr but also him.

"Damn it woman, you can't use that spell when we are so close together!"

Anska responded by taking another step forward and beginning to send her fireballs off at the creature, planning to kill it alone. While her magicka was impressive it proved why he hated traveling with others. It had taken him and Lydia weeks of fighting to get used to each other's styles. Even now months later Lygleif still felt a shiver down his spine when his housecarl arrow seem too close for comfort.

He was there to help the woman but already he was tempted to just let her fight alone and see if she survived. Thankfully for the woman he was not that kind of guy. Lygleif had promised his assistance and would offer it until they parted ways. The dragonborn turned to the stairs in the back where two Draugr had descended from. With his blade in hand he charged forward attacking the beast in a quick and efficient matter. He would have to dispatch the creatures before Anska decided to shoot him again.

When the dead were finally dead once more Lydia began towards Anska. The housecarl face was red and already he could sense the woman's rage. Anska was too busy looking at the charred remains of a draugr he had beheaded to notice the angry archer within feet of her. Lydia grabbed the woman by the shoulder and twirled her around so that their eyes meet.

"What were you thinking shooting a spell like that at the dragonborn?!"

"I'm sorry, I am not used to fighting with others, and I suppose I forgot the radius of my magicka."

"Make sure you do not repeat this mistake. He may have promised to help you find this scroll but I have made no such oath to you."

"Lydia it's alright, she apologized, don't be too hard on the woman."

Lydia's turned to glare at him, a glare which made even him cringe at the sight. The woman was right to be mad, hell he was annoyed as well. But he could understand the mistake, after all it was different to fight with new friends.

"Oh I'm sorry. I'm just supposed to keep you alive until you go against the world eater. After all who cares if you live or die, without the dragonborn we might as well all bow down to Alduin!"

Odd….Lydia was a fierce warrior and enjoyed battle greatly. It seemed to calm her down and put her at ease. Yet the woman seemed distraught, something or someone was on her mind. While normally he would have asked what ailed her heart, it would have been rude to do so in front of a stranger. Lygleif could not ignore the fact that his companion was acting odd suddenly.

"Don't worry Lydia, I am tougher than that. How could I dare go against the world eater if a simple fire spell kills me?"

"I suppose your right….."

Anska had already began to rummage through the room, ignoring their conversation completely. She had made it up the stairs and to an area that he could not currently see.

"I hate interrupting your moment, but I would like to keep moving forward before Vokun realizes what we are doing."

"She is right Lydia, we have a job to do. Now help me loot this room before she runs off and aggravates more draugr then she can handle."

Lygleif and Lydia went through the room nicking anything of value to them. A few potions here scatted on the shelves at the top of the stairs and Lydia found a chest that held a mace and some gold within. When everything of value seemed to be picked, Lygleif and Lydia exited through the iron door and meet up with Anska at the top of the stairs. She waited for him to take his spot as lead before continuing down the stone steps. The walls seemed littered with holes that would make him believe there was a pressure plate or rope to set off the trap. But there seemed to be none as he went down the stairs and to the next door. As soon as he opened the door a shard of ice hit against the front of his armor. Within the two draugr seemed determined to end them from going any further. The draugr within this room seemed harder than the ones before, they two feel to their group attacks.

While the new room was small and held nothing of real value Lygleif did notice the two draugr that laid on tables. These draugr where stripped of all armor and weapons, their bodies put in a similar position to those placed within the Hall of the Dead. On occasion they would find draugr that no longer seemed alive, but so far within just a few rooms they have found almost an equal amount of dead draugr to alive ones.

Anska was not as interested in the draugr as the dragonborn. As soon as the room was cleared out the woman was pushing ahead going to the next door. After the second room she stopped waiting for him to catch up, he was 'taking too long' for her. She insisted that at his pace they would die of old age before they could reach Vokun and the scroll.

Lygleif wasn't able to sack the room very well, he picked up a coin purse and a minor health potion on his way out of the room and back into the hallway. It was Lydia who spotted the pressure stone in which Anska was about to step on. Lygleif grabbed the back of the womans shirt, pulling her towards him as the spiked wall sprung forward and towards them. The woman let out a scream but Lydia just seemed to role her eyes and take point. "You have to be careful in these old ruins…"

The puzzle room would have been easier had Anska not insisted on just pulling levers randomly. It toke a few times to get the obvious combination down and unlock the center gate to the staircase down. Below was the catacombs, a place he really wished to avoid right about now, especially with the explosive mage on his heels.

* * *

_I really wanted to finish this chapter but I just don't know what you all will want? I am torn between two ideas that will alter this story and how it goes._

_1st. Should Vokun and or both Lygleif and Vokun die in this battle? It would obviously be the end of this story but I have toyed with the idea before…._

_2nd. Should we kill Lydia off? Lydia will not like if Lygleif pairs up with Vokun and will likely cause mischief later to try and get rid of Vokun._

_PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Give me some sort of idea of what you will all want in the comment section. I have been dreading writing this chapter because I am not sure what to do and as a result I am only getting part of it out now. SO yeah hate me or whatever._

_The faster/MORE feedback I get the more help I will have with the decision and what to do. Which means the rest of the chapter will come out sooner! If I get no feedback I may just kill everyone off and assume no one cared. I hope you enjoyed the chapter._


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